Hi readers, so I got the pleasure to interview Matt Myklusch, author of The Accidental Hero. And without further ado, here goes the interview:
How did you get inspiration for your book?
The inspiration came from the thousands of comic books that fired up my imagination when I was a kid. I read tons of comics growing up, and they always made me want to grab a pencil and paper as soon as I was finished reading. I would either draw my favorite characters from the Marvel or DC comic book universes, or I’d make up my own. Most of the time I wanted to make up my own. I always say that I’m easily inspired. I see something I like, and I say to myself, “I want to do something like that.” A lot of the heroes and villains in THE ACCIDENTAL HERO are characters I created a long time ago.
At what age did you start to write?
The first time I wrote something for real was in college. It was my junior year, and I was determined to write a screenplay over Spring Break. At the time, I didn’t know anything about screenwriting or even how to structure a story properly. I just knew that screenplays were supposed to be about 120 pages and that sounded manageable.
Three bad screenplays (and several years) later, I switched to novels. I wrote a novel with a friend of mine that we weren’t able to sell, but we had a lot of fun writing it and I learned a lot in the process. After that, I sat down to write THE ACCIDENTAL HERO and finally broke through with that story. All in all, it was about a 15 year journey from that Spring Break screenplay to the start of the Jack Blank Adventures.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
My tastes are all over the map. I don’t read a ton of books from the genre I write in, which I suppose is good, as I am less likely to get influenced that way. I’m a big fan of Tom Wolfe, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, JK Rowling, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, and Michael Harvey. I love a good detective story, and I think Michael Harvey has created the modern day Phillip Marlowe with his Michael Kelly character. It’s only a matter of time before we see that Private Investigator prowling around Chicago in the movies.
Can you tell us anything about the next book in your series "The Secret War"?
When we last left Jack Blank, he was holding onto some pretty big secrets-- both about himself, and about the Rustov’s plans to invade the Imagine Nation. Jack has become something of a celebrity hero in Empire City, but he’s still weighed down by the burden of secrets. He hasn’t even told his best friends Skerren and Allegra the whole truth about himself yet.
When the heroes of the Imagine Nation discover an attack by Rustov sleeper agents is imminent, everything changes. Jack is forced to trust his friends in a race against the clock to fight back mass hysteria, find the enemy spies, and thwart the Rustov plans before it’s too late. Along the way, he’ll come one step closer to becoming the hero – or villain – he is destined to be.
A few other tidbits you can look forward to… We’re going to travel outside of Empire City and see more of the Imagine Nation in this book. We’re also going to see how the heroes and villains who live there interact with the Real World, and how it’s all swept under the rug. We might even find out something about Jack’s father, but you’ll have to read the book to get the details.
When did you start reading comics?
The first comic I remember reading was Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew. That came out in 1982, so I must have been about five years old when I started. After that, I read a lot of classic superheroes: Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Captain America, and such.
When I was nine, I read my first X-Men comic book. It was Uncanny X-Men # 211. I remember the exact issue because it was the start of what is now a famous storyline called “The Mutant Massacre.” There was a cool team of villains called The Marauders that got introduced in that issue, and they all had awesome powers and code names. The X-Men team lineup at point in time was a great one as well (they have good years and bad years… kind of like SNL casts). It was a great jumping on point, and I think that is about the time I started drawing my own superheroes. Like I said, I’m easily inspired.
Anything us you'd like to tell us about yourself? Your books? Life in General?
Let’s see… I’m a die-hard Yankee fan, and I was in the stadium for the Aaron Boone game in 2003. I actually got tickets for two Red Sox fans that night, and I remain convinced that the good karma I gained from that act helped the Yankees win that series.
Before I quit to write full time, I worked at MTV for almost ten years. I helped launch mtvU and managed MTV Spring Break three different times. My title was Director of Ancillary Business. I still don’t know what that means, but it was a great job.
Captain Carrot!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to everyone who enters.
Yup, wish you could all win!
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