Envy of Angels: Matt Wallace

mattWritemeister, Mr Matt Wallace, is the envy of everyone with his Sin du Jour series for Tor.com. All you really need to know is that his writing is freaking hilarious, he’s also a screenwriter, and he once taught Tai Chi to senior citizens.

1. First of all, what do new readers need to know about Matt Wallace?

I used to be an asshole, but I’m better now. Mostly.

2. Where did the original idea for Envy of Angels (and by extension the Sin Du Jour series) come from?

I remember the first time I talked about it out loud was when I pitched it to my fiancée, Nikki, in the car on our way to Las Vegas. I pitch her all my ideas first. She’s my best and harshest critic, and if I can convince/sell her, I know I can sell anybody. I wanted to write something more contemporary and commercial, which I know sounds ghastly to everyone who has never struggled to make a living as a writer. I’m an avid home cook, foodie, and I spent a lot of time around high-end kitchens when I lived in NYC. Somehow all of that came together to form the germ of an idea about who precisely does the cooking in urban fantasy-type stories for all these fantastical creatures.

3. Your top five novels are …? envy

DUNE will always be a favorite, despite the fact not all of it has aged well for me. But when you’ve studied and taught knife work for as long as I have, a novel in which the entire political, economic, and ecological fate of the universe is resolved via knife fight will always hold water. Ken Grimwood’s REPLAY, Christa Faust’s HOODTOWN, William Goldman’s HEAT, and Stephen King’s THE RUNNING MAN are all all-time favorites I’ve probably read the most.

4. When did you first start writing and can you remember the first thing you finished?

I started making up stories before I could write. I’d illustrate them and my mother would write the words down for me. I think she still has the first one. It sucked. I’m still a lousy artist, too. The first full-fledged story I can remember finishing was one I wrote for Knott’s Berry Farm’s Ghosts of the Old West Short Story Contest for elementary school kids. It was about two whisky peddling brothers in bowler hats taking their wagon across the country and meeting all manner of figures from western American history and folklore. I won the contest, btw.

5. Who were/are your literary heroes/influences?

When I was a teenager I wanted to be as clever with words as Douglas Adams and as striking with metaphor and simile as Poppy Z. Brite.

lust6. Which do you prefer: writing the first draft or doing the editing afterwards to make it shiny?

YOU’RE ALLOWED TO MAKE CHANGES AFTER YOU WRITE IT THE FIRST TIME? WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME?

7. When you’re in the mood to read, who is your first choice?

These days I tend to grab the books I’ve read a million times, because I’m just really damn busy. Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Madeline Ashby, Alyssa Wong, and Kameron Hurley are some of the newer authors I’m excited to read lately when I can find the time

8. Which book, either fictional or otherwise, would you say taught you the most about writing?

The first novel I wrote. It was terrible. It taught me what not to do and what kinda/sorta worked. I think that’s the book that teaches every writer the most about writing. Their first, or their first through their fifth. It depends.

9. You invite five fictional characters for dinner and shenanigans: who makes the guest list?

Four of the Beagle Boys and Scrooge McDuck, at which point I break a pool cue, drop both halves on the floor, turn off the lights and lock the door behind me.

10. What’s next for Matt Wallace? pride

More books! My next Sin du Jour novella, PRIDE’S SPELL, comes out on June 21st in print and as an ebook from Tor.com Publishing, and we’ll be doing four more Sin du Jour books after that throughout 2017 and 2018. I’m also finishing my first epic fantasy novel. In-between all of that I am writing for the moving pictures, with an emphasis on the small screen, and will hopefully have more to talk about there soon.

 

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