It's always a pleasure getting to chat with author and social media expert, Jenn Nixon, and author and editor, RobRoy McCandless. Especially when it's about book-writing. We had a delightful half hour of meanderings, banter, and chicanery discussing our writing process, the slog of marketing, and how awesome parents are.
Be sure to check out the latest Mythbehaving podcast on Spotify, featuring yours truly, Jenn, and Rob.
Apropos of my day job, I was interviewed on the family law podcast, How to Split a Toaster. It was a nice chance to have an informal chat about some of the more important aspects of appeals in family law cases. Who totally deserved to win a "golden panther" award in high school but didn't? You'll have to listen to the episode to find out.
- Matt
So long, 2023. Hello, 2024. Out with the old, in with the new. Rinse, recycle, repeat.
In the time-honored spirit of new years, here's a look back--and forward--at what I've got going in speculative fiction.
In terms of publication, 2023 was good, though not great. 2021 and 2022 each had a novel. 2023 was a year of shorter works getting published. In something of a first, my weird Florida novella, Look With Your Eyes, was released by Ellysian Press. I also had two short stories come out in two anthologies from Raconteur Press: a historical fantasy, The Ass of Stratford (in I Can Explain Your Honor ...) and a Cormac-McCarthy-inspired humorous action piece, No Country for Dumbasses (in He Was Dead When I Got There ...).
I turned in a pair of novels, though, so 2024 should see some new books coming out. The second installment of Yonder & Far, tentatively entitled "The Tarot Tale," picks up where our favorite fae odd couple, John Yonder and Captain Far, left off on the cusp of the 19th century. More wild adventures, more fortune-telling, more general strangeness in post-colonial Boston. If you liked The Lost Lock, you'll love Tarot Tale. I've also got a stand-alone, low fantasy one-shot tentatively called "God of the Godless" on deck that will be coming out from Montag Press. That one came from a novelette I wrote a while back (Don't Call Me Godless) and I'm very much looking forward to its release.
I also climbed a Mt. Everest of sorts. I had poked and piddled with a weird Florida legal thriller off and one for nearly eight years. Well. This past October, I finally typed "The End" on McJustice. It's the story of a Miami street lawyer on the run from a debt collector who finds himself trapped in a north Florida town where life revolves around a century-long lawsuit, dark secrets, and occasionally murderous alligators. I'm hopeful it'll find a good home because there's a lot packed into it. I've also decided to switch gears back to my first love, epic fantasy. So I've nearly finished an extensive outline (and an opening prologue) for my newest work-in-progress, which, for now, I'm calling The Grenadier. If all goes well, this time next year, I'll have it finished.
I hope your past year was filled with successes and that the one to come brings you all the prosperity and joy you hope for. Thanks for stopping by the blog, and thanks for reading my work.
Cheers,
Matt
Today (or more specifically, tonight at 10:27 p.m. EST) marks the winter solstice. It's the day of the year when, even in Florida, sunlight comes at a premium. Old Sol doesn't make it nearly as high in the sky as usual and skirts off into the horizon more quickly than ever. Shadows grow longer. The air grows cooler (yes, even in the subtropics, we get a little chill).
Here's what Almanac.com has to say about the winter solstice:
The winter solstice marks the official beginning of astronomical winter (as opposed to meteorological winter, which starts about three weeks before the solstice). The winter solstice occurs once a year in each hemisphere: once in the Northern Hemisphere (in December) and once in the Southern Hemisphere (in June). It marks the start of each hemisphere's winter season. . . .
This is all thanks to Earth's tilted axis, which makes it so that one-half of Earth is pointed away from the Sun, and the other half is pointed towards it at the time of the solstice.
We often think of the winter solstice as an event that spans an entire calendar day, but the solstice actually lasts only a moment. Specifically, it's the exact moment when a hemisphere is tilted as far away from the Sun as possible. . . .
The word solstice comes from the Latin sol "sun," and sistere "to stand still." So, loosely translated, it means "sun stands still." Why? The Sun's path across the sky appears to freeze for a few days before and after the solstice. The change in its noontime elevation is so slight that the Sun's path seems to stay the same or stand still.
For thousands of years, ancient cultures across the northern hemisphere have marked the winter solstice in December. One of the most famous monuments in the Western world, Stonehenge, was built to commemorate the setting sun on the winter solstice. The ancient Romans threw parties, and hung wreaths, and exchanged candles for Saturnalia, a weeklong feast tied to the solstice. Those who celebrate Christmas with lights in their yard and a bright, merry tree in their family room are, indirectly, observing the winter solstice.
Whatever holiday you may celebrate and however you mark the days, may this day be filled with joy and wonder and light.
- Matt
It is a rumored, but as yet undocumented fact, that the eastern gray squirrel is among the most rapacious, bloodthirsty animals ever to walk the earth.
You're scoffing. Of course you are.
Because you've been fooled. Just like everyone else. . .
What better way to enjoy the holidays than by unraveling a conspiracy theory you never knew you needed to unravel? North Florida weirdness, dark comedy, and a little touch of horror. Get your copy of my new novella today. And if you like it, please be sure to leave a review.
Happy Holidays!
- Matt
What does the FSU/UF rivalry have to do with writing?
Doesn't matter.
Go Noles.
I'm very pleased to announce that my new weird Florida novella, Look With Your Eyes, is available for e-readers and is on sale for $2.99. Hope you enjoy, and as always, if you like it, please leave a glowing, 5-star review.
LOOK WITH YOUR EYES ON AMAZON/
"Stirring and disquieted, Look with Your Eyes is a compelling and quick read with an imaginative premise. Lucas' apt employment of wit makes this rollercoaster of a thriller like a story you've never read before."
- Maxwell Gill, Independent Book Review
"Look with Your Eyes is a weird and wild jaunt into the of-beat--and hopefully fictional--world of anti-squirrel conspiracy theories... Imagine that Lara Croft's frumpy, grumpy, Snickers-addicted aunt goes on a road trip into the North Florida hinterlands with a less doughy version of Bluetooth from Animal House, and that'll give you a taste of the funny, bizarre, and harrowing tale that Matthew Lucas has assembled like a precarious pyramid of acorns..."
- Keith R. Fentonmiller, author of Fait Accompli: The Water Nymph Gospels, Book 1
"In a tight and taut little bundle, Matthew C. Lucas crafts a narrative that challenges the very basis of our most innate fears, asking a simple but telling question: why are we afraid of what we're afraid of, and why the hell aren't we more afraid of squirrels?"
- Paul d Miller, author of Albrecht Drue, ghostpuncher and Albrecht Drue: Paranormal Dickd
I'm very pleased to announce that my new novella will be available for pre-order on Amazon soon. Official release date is October 21.
Norma Sweeney knows something you don't. The professor of folklore at Umatilla University knows, firsthand, that squirrels pose the most lethal, dangerous threat to humanity in all of nature. They are evil, rapacious beasts with a lust for blood. She and a small cadre of squirrel conspiracy theorists (who call themselves the Foragers) hope to someday convince you of what may be the most vitally important secret in the world: that you should be much more afraid of squirrels than you are.
Norma thinks she's found a possible lead that will provide irrefutable evidence of the Foragers' theory. With the help of a failing student athlete, Tyler, she travels to the north Florida town of Oak Slough. There she learns of secret rites and connections to squirrels that will either shed light on this chattering menace--or cast Norma deep into the darkness of the woods.
A dark comedic thriller, just in time for Halloween, this story with a Southern accent will give you laughs and chills in equal measure. Enjoy! And if you like it, please leave a favorable, five-star review.
- Matt
Courtroom drama meets comedy in this themed anthology just released from Raconteur Press. Ten stories in all (including an historical fantasy by yours truly). They all have Andrew Spurgle in them, and they're all awesome.
Available in print and ebook on Amazon.
Get your copy today; and if you like it, help us out with a five-star review.
- Matt
Something of a first for me, I was thrilled to have a short story accepted into a themed anthology. The title says it all. Available this Friday on Amazon, Raconteur Press has put together nine short stories (including an historical fantasy by yours truly) around the theme of a court proceeding and a total buffoon named Andrew Spurgle.
This should be a hoot. Hope you enjoy the anthology as much as I enjoyed writing my small contribution to it.
