Greetings, space cadets!
I’m taking questions. Ask M.G. Anything! I’ll write blog posts for the best 20 questions that get submitted to me.
For those of you who don’t know me well, I write sci-fi thrillers like The Auriga Project, The Republic, and other works in speculative worlds. Some are post-apocalyptic, others are near-future with a dystopian edge, and some are pure space adventure.
What my stories have in common is page-turner pacing, a drive to explore alternative futures for humanity, and characters who face choices where the right answer isn’t always clear—or where doing the right thing comes with an unexpected cost.
Still need ideas for questions you can ask me? Okay, I’ll play ball.
Ask me about my new book The Alien Element. Ask me about my biggest fears. Ask me about the places I’ve traveled, science fiction tropes, writing habits, my book buying addiction, beer, whiskey, productivity, rock climbing, dog training, World Cup soccer, what I had for breakfast this morning, the universe and everything,
For those of you that don’t know me well yet, apart from writing books, I run a freelance content strategy business. I’ve been an Amazon bestseller, a rafting guide, and I spoke at SXSW once. I’ve traveled across Europe, India, Turkey, the U.S. and Canada…
I could tell you stories, man.
Ways to ask me questions:
- Leave a comment on this blog post
- Email me at matt at mgherron dot com
Don’t let me down.
Where do you get your story ideas from? How about Wendigo?
Classic question! I’ll start with this one.
Ideas are everywhere: https://mgherron.com/2017/07/ama-q1-get-story-ideas/
Since I know you irl, I know you’re a fit guy even though you type at a computer all day. As a very sedentary author, I’d love to hear your tips on dealing with the special physical challenges writers deal with.
These all kinda go together, since you said you might answer in full post format: What kind of stuff do you read? Have you felt like your reading improves or inspires your work? Who’s your favorite author? Why? Were you a reader growing up or more into other things? How has content strategy (that order, planning, high-level amazeballs work that we do) changed or affected your approach to fiction writing?
Be honest: How much do you plan your stories over a whole series of books? Does that change based on your style and experiences between books?
These are amazing questions! Keep them coming!
How do you come up with the names for your characters, especially the ones in The Alien Element?
When did you know that you wanted to become an author and what drew you to the sci-fi genre?
A couple more questions that came in as Facebook comments, and which deserve full blog post answers (like each of the ones made here already by you amazing people). I answered a few more on my personal profile here: https://www.facebook.com/mgherron7/posts/10102236080489297
Michael Bunker asks, “Which of your characters had the most depth. Is the most real. Could you see producing works developing the life and journey of this character.”
Kelly Manfredini asks, “What’s the first adult thing you ever had to do?”
Jeff Wetherbee asks, “As somebody who spends a lot of time in Austin myself, I’m curious…what are some of your favorite hidden dining ‘gems’?”