Matthew Salinas interview

March 16, 2023

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

Matthew Salinas is a 30-year-old Jewish/Native American author from Illinois. He is currently working on a collection of short stories. He has published works in horror, microfiction, general fiction, suspense, mystery, and poetry. He is helped along on his journey by his incredible wife, Jordana, and their cats, Buffy, Pepper, and Nova.

When did your love of books begin?

I have always been a big fan of reading and writing for about as long as I can remember. I spent a lot of time in the public library as a child and wrote what I would consider my first complete story in the fifth grade.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I did a lot of writing on and off in my earlier years, but the moment that solidified it for me was my freshman year of high school. I submitted some stories for the school magazine and mentioned this during my English/Literature class. My teacher remarked that if I followed through with it and worked hard at it that one-day people might be teaching “Salianaserian” literature in schools. For some reason hearing my name used as an adjective to delineate a specific type of writing blew my mind and I am continuing to work on my craft to this day.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Very interesting to be entirely honest. I have found that more often than not there are many factors in life that can be rather discouraging, however, at the end of the day I couldn’t ever imagine not writing or telling stories. I am very proud of being able to say that I continue to preserve despite everything that has happened in my life as well as my struggles with mental health. Also, I can’t help but feel doubting oneself in the context of the merit of their work in a creative field is an inherent quality of all artists.

That being said, I am currently published in/working with two online literary magazines, working as an editor for FairField Scribes, have a publishing contract with Coalesence Publishing, LLC for seven books this year, and have been published by a few other companies resulting in over fifty writing credits.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Make sure you’re prepared to work diligently and sometimes without validation of your efforts until later down the road. I don’t think anyone goes into writing with the genuine idea that the first thing they write is going to be something paramount to literature as a whole. It’s going to take determination and a strong sense of self-worth to pull yourself through the low moments, but once you get where you want and continue to make strides, it will always be all the more worth it.

Tell us about your book/books:

Horror: What Sleeps in Wollenlark, Horrible Things, Mr. Salinas’s Seven Scary Stories, A Dinner to Remember, The Witches Ball, Screaming In The Dark Volumes 1-3

General Fiction/Fantasy: The Obscura Magnifique, That Strange Day, An Anxious Dreamer

Microfiction: The One Hundred: A collection of 100 short stories

Poetry: The Desert’s Rose and Salt of The Earth

Personally, What Sleeps in Wollenlark, Horrible Things, The One Hundred, and That Strange Day are my favorites. The Witches Ball is also notable as its part of an anthology by Quill and Crow Publishing as well as Jazzhouse Publishing that features my story “The Traveler’s Tale: The Masque of Death” which is an homage to Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of The Red Death.”

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

The overall positivity of everyone. It’s nice to have a creative space that is respectful and appreciative of any and all creative efforts. It also helps to be able to see what other people think about your work.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

I am eternally grateful to anyone who supports and helps me along the way. My journey has been an interesting experience of learning by trial and error, and I am always working to make myself better and better. That being said, keep checking out the work I am putting out because it’s only going to keep improving.

Where can people connect with you?

Twitter: @AuthorSalinas

TikTok: @Authormatthewsalinas

FairField Scribes Editor Page:

https://www.fairfieldscribes.com/matthew-ps-salinas.html

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Matthew-Salinas/author/B08KPP1W7B?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Other Interviews:

Coalescence Publishing Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/coalescencepublishing/531701/

Boomers on Books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-gbrdt-3Ao

Author on Author Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WQzEPdXfio

Promote Horror Interview: http://promotehorror.com/2021/03/14/interview-with-mr-salinass-seven-scary-stories-author-matthew-p-s-salinas/

Readers Club Interview: