Monday, July 24, 2017

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: LEE MATTHEW GOLDBERG AUTHOR OF THE MENTOR


Lee Matthew Goldberg’s novel THE MENTOR is forthcoming from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press in June 2017 and has been acquired by Macmillan Entertainment. The French edition will be published by Editions Hugo. His debut novel SLOW DOWN is out now. His pilot JOIN US was a finalist in Script Pipeline’s TV Writing Competition. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his fiction has also appeared in The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, Essays & Fictions, The New Plains Review, Verdad Magazine, BlazeVOX, and others. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series. He lives in New York City.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

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About the Book:

Kyle Broder has achieved his lifelong dream and is an editor at a major publishing house.
When Kyle is contacted by his favorite college professor, William Lansing, Kyle couldn’t be happier.
Kyle has his mentor over for dinner to catch up and introduce him to his girlfriend, Jamie, and the three have a great time. When William mentions that he’s been writing a novel, Kyle is overjoyed. He would love to read the opus his mentor has toiled over.
Until the novel turns out to be not only horribly written, but the most depraved story Kyle has read.
After Kyle politely rejects the novel, William becomes obsessed, causing trouble between Kyle and Jamie, threatening Kyle’s career, and even his life. As Kyle delves into more of this psychopath’s work, it begins to resemble a cold case from his college town, when a girl went missing. William’s work is looking increasingly like a true crime confession.
Lee Matthew Goldberg's The Mentor is a twisty, nail-biting thriller that explores how the love of words can lead to a deadly obsession with the fate of all those connected and hanging in the balance.
PRAISE FOR THE MENTOR:
From Booklist - A junior editor at a Manhattan publisher reunites with his college mentor with disastrous results in Goldberg's second thriller (after Slow Down, 2015). Kyle Broder has just acquired a probable best-seller for Burke & Burke publishing when he hears from his former literature professor, William Lansing, who pitches the still-unfinished opus he’s been working on for 10 years. Lansing’s book is not only badly written, it’s also disturbing, featuring a narrator literally eating the heart of the woman he loves. Lansing turns vengeful when his "masterpiece" is rejected, but Broder’s concerns about his mentor are dismissed both at home and at work: Broder’s girlfriend considers Lansing charming, and a rival editor feigns interest in Lansing’s book. Broder revisits his college and delves more deeply into the cold case of a missing ex-girlfriend, and as the plot darkens and spirals downward, it’s unclear who will be left standing. The compelling plot is likely to carry readers with a high enough tolerance for gore to the final twist at the end.

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What’s inside the mind of a thriller author?

Thriller writers definitely have a twisted sense of humor. We put our characters in terrible jam and have them try to squirm out of impossible situations that we wouldn’t be able to handle. Also the stakes continually have to be raised, so we’re always thinking how to shake up the plot.

What is so great about being an author?

It’s an ideal job. When the weather is nice, I write out of Central Park at my favorite tree. I’m a very creative person and need to have a creative outlet. It’s a great feeling to know that people are reading your work and feeling emotions based on what you’ve written.

When do you hate it?

Getting a book deal is tough, so the rejection aspect is definitely the worst part of the career.

What is a regular writing day like for you?

I edit in the mornings, take a break to work out and eat lunch, and then write all afternoon. Sometimes I’ll edit a little at night too when I’m really into what I’m writing.

How do you handle negative reviews?

I just got my first! And it was from Publisher’s Weekly. They really hated the book. At first, I was really pissed, but then I changed my tone. It brought up some emotion in them. At least they didn’t find it boring.

How do you handle positive reviews?

Oh, those are the best! And you get to spread the word about them, which is fun too.

What is the usual response when you tell a new acquaintance that you’re an author?

Surprise. We don’t really exist. At least not in Manhattan too much. We’re unicorns.

What do you do on those days you don’t feel like writing? Do you force it or take a break?

If I’m on a deadline I force it. But I try not to. I’ll go to museum, see a play, watch a great movie, listen to music, anything to recharge.

Any writing quirks?
Well, I write outdoors in Central Park when the weather is nice at my favorite tree that perfectly contours to my back. I like being surrounded by fresh air and nature. It feeds my creative mind.

What would you do if people around you didn’t take your writing seriously or see it as a hobby?

That’s their problem, not mine. I don’t really care.

Some authors seem to have a love-hate relationship to writing. Can you relate?

Not really. I love to write. If you don’t, maybe it’s not the career for you. I write because I basically need to be creative.

Do you think success as an author must be linked to money?

That’s a tough question. It’s different for everyone. I would like to make money off of this career. I teach college as a side-gig but ideally don’t want to have to worry about money. I’d like to get into screenwriting and TV writing and ultimately want to be successful in all fields.

What has writing taught you?

Discipline. How to take rejection. And how to look at the world through vastly different people’s shoes.

Leave us with some words of wisdom.

If you truly want to be writer, let the rejection roll off you back and edit, edit, edit until you work only gets better. Be a hustler and get your work out there. Don’t give up if it’s what you’re meant to do!


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