NG: This month we visit with author Matt Cost, a terrific and prolific writer, a friend of David’s, and an all-around funny guy. Welcome, and thanks for joining us, Matt.

NG: What can you tell readers about the book or books that have inspired you? How?

MC: All kinds of books have inspired me! The creativity of Harold and his Purple Crayon. Oh, the Places You’ll Go with the dreaded waiting place. The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown, and Louis L’Amour. Mystery authors Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, and Robert Parker. Most recently, I’ve been embraced by authors of my publisher, Encircle Publications, who are turning out fantastic books, and other Maine authors, particularly in the mystery genre, who are changing the boundaries and breaking new ground each and every day.

NG: Your website notes you write “histories and mysteries.” One of your historical books is about Fidel Castro. Why did you choose to write about him?

MC: I have always been drawn to history, first as a student, and then a teacher, and now a writer. One thing that I’ve realized in all three endeavors is that it is far too easy to bore the bejesus out of people with history if you don’t give it a chance to come alive. History is not a bunch of dates, places—all in black and white, but rather, is a living, breathing creature of the past just waiting to be brought to life, much like Frankenstein. I chose Fidel Castro simply because he was the largest living human being of his time, with complexities and a personality that was like a tsunami.

NG: You write two mystery series, the Geoff Langdon series and the Clay Wolfe series. Tell us about your two detectives.

MC: Goff Langdon is a mystery bookstore owner/private detective, who lives and works in Brunswick, Maine. He is laid back and easygoing with a Viking temper simmering somewhere underneath the skin who is loyal to his family, friends, and dog, not necessarily in that order. Clay Wolfe is more professional, being an ex-Boston homicide detective returned to his hometown of Port Essex, Maine, to care for his ageing Grandpops and escape the corruption and cynicism of big-city police work. He has a roguish charm, is nattily dressed, and is also fiercely loyal to his friends and Grandpops.

NG: Your latest Clay Wolfe novel, Mouse Trap, came out last month. What inspired you to write it?

MC: The fascinating world of genome editing made me write this book. It is another tale of science outpacing laws and ethics and morality that was bursting to be let loose. The capability to alter the DNA of human beings through genome editing at the fetus stage exists in the world today, changing not only that human being, but all subsequent offspring forever. You want to ensure that your child doesn’t have diabetes or other more serious diseases? Do you want your baby to be stronger, faster, smarter than others? The FDA currently frowns upon this process and bans it from happening, but they have no real enforcement ability. If you have money, you can have a superbaby. Who wouldn’t want that?

Click here to purchase Mouse Trap

NG: Is there something in your personal life that might surprise readers?

MC: I am actually the last speaker of Skalwegian, even though there is a book out there where somebody else falsely claims this title. I once rode a blind pony into a swimming pool, had a lisp as a child, have hitchhiked around New England, owned a mystery bookshop, worked in a behavior resource room, took a train from Germany to Spain because I wanted tacos (yes, I now know that tacos aren’t Spanish), and have published nine books in the last two years. Okay, one, seven, or all of these might be true.

NG: Is there a myth about the writing life of an author you’d like to dispel?

MC: I suppose that some writers might suffer from an ailment known as writers block, but I never have. It seems to me that the very best way to overcome that is to sit down and write. There is the notion of a writer of being an introvert hiding away at their desk and afraid to speak in public, but I rather thrive on talking to a crowd, or an individual, both sometimes being the turnout for one of my speaking events. Of course, there is the age-old myth that writers have to have once been dairy farmers, served in the special forces, or be fluent in French, but I disprove all those as wholly unnecessary.

NG: Tell us a bit about your path to publication and your publisher.

MC: Some writers have had long journeys to their first publishing experience, but I, gladly, am not one of them. I sat down and wrote a first draft of a book in 1990, had a computer crash lose it all, waited an opportunity to visit a boycotted country, faced more rejections than a teen with horrible acne, and a mere thirty years later published I am Cuba; Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution with Encircle Publications. Easy-peasy. Encircle Publications has been fantastic, even if lucky, to snag me and my books before obscurity was able to sign me for life.

NG: What do you have coming up and what are you working on?

MC: In August, Encircle Publications will republish my self-published historical, Joshua Chamberlain and the Civil War; At Every Hazard. In December, the fourth book in my Clay Wolfe/Port Essex series, Cosmic Trap, will be released. In April 2023, the first book in my new 1923 historical series, Velma Gone Awry; A Brooklyn 8 Ballo Mystery will publish. And, in August 2023, the fifth book in my Mainely Mystery series, Mainely Wicked, will be out. I am currently writing the fifth book in the Clay Wolfe/Port Essex series, Pirate Trap, slated for December 2023.

NG: Thanks so much, Matt. If readers want to learn more about you, they can visit your website or comment below.  https://www.mattcost.net/