Writer Wednesday: Matt Champine
Originally published at finding my words. Please leave any comments there.
Today’s guest author is Matt Champine. Find out the inspiration for his collection, what inspired him to be a writer, his favorite TV show, and more…
And, in the department of it’s FREE: his collection of horror short stories, “Cold Shivers“, is FREE Monday, October 2nd, through Friday, October 6th.
1. First things first…a name and bio:
My name is Matthew Champine (prefer Matt, though). Born 1957 in OKC, and in the ensuing 55 years I haven’t strayed far from there. Been a gamer since ’75, father since ’77, grandfather since ’99, retired mail carrier since 2009. Also been in the US Army, Society for Creative Anachronism, and LRH Writers of the Future Anthology vol 20.
2. Where are you from and what’s your favorite thing about where you live?
I live in Ada, Oklahoma. It’s a college town, headquarters for the Chickasaw Nation, home to 3 of my 4 children, and the place I buried my father, brother, and sister. It isn’t a perfect place - small towns never are - but my roots here are deep.
3. Tell about your latest story. What made you want to write it?
October 2011, a young woman (Bliss Morgan) issued a challenge to any writer on G+ - write a scary/dark short story, based on an image she would supply, every day of the month. LSS (long story short) I managed to finish 17 stories and one graphic art piece (comic strip, heh). Now, no short stories I’ve written since Writers of the Future have caught the interest of a publisher. So, in an experiment to bypass those Keepers of the Gate, I polished up 13 of those stories (plus the comic strip), put them together into an illustrated e-book anthology I called Cold Shivers, and launched it into the Amazon - the .com, not the river. The stories range from science fiction to fantasy, bloody horror to dark humor, all illustrated with the image that inspired each. Sadly, Cold Shivers hasn’t sold much.
4. Where can people find your stories?
I won LRH Writers of the Future contest back in 2003. My novella sized short story, Sunrunners, appeared in WotF volume 20 in 2004. Both LRH Writers of the Future vol 20 and Cold Shivers are available at Amazon.com.
5. What are you working on right now?
For me, ideas aren’t the problem, finishing a story is, so I often have several stories cooking at once. The one holding my (probably ADHD) attention recently starts as a zombie apocalypse and, in theory, will morph into an alien invasion via MMO crowd-sourcing and biotic crisis cycles. And now you know almost as much as I do 8) I think it might be more than I can shove into a short story, though, but we’ll see.
6. What inspired you to be a writer?
Robert A. Heinlein’s Rocket Ship Galileo. Found it on the shelf of a small bookshelf in homeroom, at my then-new school. Thinking about it, I bet there weren’t more than 60 books in that little homeroom library; I don’t remember that 6th grade teacher, but I owe her for choosing to have that book there.
7. Who is your favorite character in your stories? Why?
That’s a good question, and a hard one to answer. Well. . . my favorite character is an A.I. helicopter, a Yaqui ARH-97 Autonomous Recon Helicopter, call sign Lobo One. In the as-yet unpublished story, titled Way Point Home, Lobo One returns from a month-long “black” mission to find every human dead or gone. Driven by programmed directives and a growing need for closure, Lobo One is searching for survivors. When he finally locates a single, very sick enemy soldier and renders medical aid, her last words before falling to sleep are: “Home,” she says, and tears start down her cheeks. “Please, home.” She touches the screen again, then slumps unconscious. At this moment Lobo transcends his programming, his maker’s limits, and sets his own destiny. That is the end of the story, but clearly not the end of Lobo’s new life.
8. What is your favorite comfort food?
Cookies, and my massive waistline shows it.
9. What character from your stories was the hardest to write?
A number of stories remain unfinished for that very reason - that I can’t seem to get one or more characters right, or right enough I suppose. Of finished stories, Kadge the Taker in the fantasy story Devoted to Evil was difficult, nearly breaking the story. He was evil and reveled in it to the point of a kind of dark majesty. Worse, he was also intended to look like the protagonist until the “good guy” assassins strike. It is a finished story, but I’m still unsatisfied.
10. What’s the biggest challenge about being a writer?
Making your living. I literally waited until retirement checks were coming in before jumping in the deep end.
11. Do you have any advice for beginning writers?
Do it, but don’t expect to get rich, or even earn a living. There are many steps on that staircase and many landings to leave it. Go as high as you are able, pause to rest if you must, just don’t break your life.
12. Who are your favorite authors and why?
Asimov, Heinlein, Dick
13. What books have most influenced your writing?
Stranger in a Strange Land, The Stainless Steel Rat, Conan the Barbarian, Foundation, Hammer’s Slammers, Lord of the Rings, The Time of the Dark, Retief’s War; there’s more, but that’s enough.
14. What tools are in your writer’s tool-kit?
25 years of Game Mastering, a desire to tell a believable story, guide readers through a satisfying trip. Beyond that, I’m working on it.
15. Where can people find out more about you and your stories?
There’s not much more to know, sorry. I don’t have a webpage, gave up on blogging. Wouldn’t hurt if folks wanted to look me up on G+ or drop a line at mdchampine@gmail.com
15. What question(s) did I forget to ask?
Online game I play most: World of Tanks; Favorite tv show: Castle/Firefly; Favorite movie: Lord of the Rings trilogy/Serenity/Aliens
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If you are a writer interested in participating in Writer Wednesday, please send an email with a short biography to ww (at) ambersistla (dot) com.