Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was originally a playwright and screenwriter but the call of the long form novel was always close by. I have written three books, one of which was published earlier this year.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Oscar and his Spectacular Spectacles; The Case of the Mystery Victory is the first in the Oscar detective series. It started out as a project for myself and my two sons (who feature as the main characters in the book), we wanted to write a detective story but we wanted to do something different so we created a hero who not only wears spectacles (we already have Harry Potter) but a hero who is empowered by his glasses.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often watch films as a write, they have to be films I have seen before so I don’t get too distracted.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The list is endless. The Famous Five series and the Sherlock Holmes stories are the most obvious for my children’s books but for my own edification The Master and the Margarita is my favourite book of all time but authors such as Paul Auster, George Orwell, Fay Weldon, Aldous Huxley, S.E. Hinton, Thomas Pynchon
What are you working on now?
I am working on the script for my first published book but I am also working on a second draft of Little Skin, a coming of age tale from the 80s about my own obsession with gang culture and fashion and the way we try and shape our identity in our formative years. Inspired by The Outsiders, Catcher in the Rye and Brighton Rock.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads is excellent for growing a likeminded community, Instagram has also worked well for me as has Facebook. With all of these mediums it is all about being true to yourself and engaging with an open mind.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t think the job is over when you have finished the book, it’s only just begun, as Karen Carpenter famously sang. Even with a publishing deal you need to take the media bull by the horns and build yourself a community.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My old screenwriter mentor Jan Fleischer compared writing to a large rock which we, as writers chip and chip away at until we find our true story.
What are you reading now?
Faye Weldon’s ‘The life and Loves of the She Devil’. A wickedly funny book, so sinister at points that you start to question those darker parts of yourself.
What’s next for you as a writer?
The next book is Oscar and his Spectacular Spectacles Part Deux – that’s its working title obviously. But the next goal is to get one of my literary fiction projects out into the world.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Master and the Margarita – Bulgakov
MR Vertigo – Paul Auster
Lord of the Rings – Tolkien , just incase I’m there for a while.
Author Websites and Profiles
Matthew Rawlins Website
Matthew Rawlins Amazon Profile
Matthew Rawlins’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account