They say never go into the woods at night…
Even as a child Matthew Lyons was not afraid of the woods at night. He read Stephen King’s “IT” at far too young an age, and this Colorado-born author has written over three dozen short stories including “Terror at 5280” in the Denver Horror Collective. Nominated for Best Small Fictions and appeared in the 2018 edition of Best American Short Stories. Horror fans are going to want to get to know this up and coming author!
Just a taste of “The Night Will Find Us”
School’s out for summer and that means one thing to Parker, Chloe, and their four friends: a well-deserved camping trip in the Pine Barrens, a million-acre forest deep in the heart of New Jersey. But when old grudges erupt, an argument escalates into the unthinkable, leaving one of them dead and the killer missing. As darkness descends and those left alive try to determine a course of action, the forest around them begins to change…
Colleen Bement: What inspired you to write “The Night Will Find Us?” Did you go into the woods at night?
Matthew Lyons: I mean, I absolutely drew on some childhood camping experiences to round out the world of The Night Will Find Us, and I’ve always enjoyed the dark of the woods at night. I’ve always been inspired by the idea of wild places or places where human society simply holds less dominion than usual. After all, Horror as a genre sort of runs on powerlessness, and remote, wooded areas like the New Jersey Pine Barrens really represent that utter lack of a societal safety net. Feral areas like that are perfect places to scare the absolute hell out of you.
CB: Fans of your new book will want to read more of your work. I know that some of your short stories appeared in the 2018 edition of Best American Short Stories. Tell us where we can find more of your stories.
ML: Anyone who wants to read more of my work can find links to most of my published short stories on my website, matthewlyonsauthor.com – there are stories you can read for free, and some truly amazing indie horror collections like the Denver Horror Collective’s Terror at 5280′, as well as incredible, long-running journals like Not One of Us, Kzine and more.
CB: What scares you? Personally, I absolutely hate spiders.
ML: You know, I have to say that I’ve never been a fan of clowns. The fact that I grew up to be a horror writer is probably largely creditable to the fact that I read Stephen King’s “IT” at a way-too-young age.
CB: What inspired you to become a writer?
ML: Well, I’ve always loved telling stories, ever since I was a tiny little kid dictating stories to my mom and my grandparents (because I couldn’t yet write them down for myself); but what really inspired me to pursue that love as a lifelong art was moving to New York after college to be with my then-girlfriend, now-wife. Being there with her for ten years did so much to challenge and expand my idea of what art could be and accomplish, and I never found myself hurting for inspiration. New York is a legitimately magical place, and getting to know so many incredibly talented artists there really inspired me to take my love of writing and turn it into a serious artistic pursuit.
CB: OK, you’ve got my curiosity up. Just how tall are you?
ML: Depending on who’s doing the measuring, I’m anywhere between 6’4″ and 6’5″.
CB: These are such difficult times for so many. How has COVID and these quarantines affected your life and your passion for writing?
ML: Okay, I love this question. I think that when the pandemic was first starting to hit, a lot of creatives and artists saw the stay-at-home orders as opportunities to hang out and do art with their newfound free time – I know I did. But the reality of pandemic life turned out to be pretty profoundly different. I don’t think I’m saying anything particularly surprising when I say that it’s an exhausting way to live. It didn’t take me long to realize that the art was suffering because normally, I put so much of the world around me into my work, and being so suddenly disconnected kept me from effectively refilling my creative fuel tanks. So I had to figure out different ways to fuel up and keep moving, because “not writing” hasn’t ever really been an option for me. Movies, books, video games, and music have always been essential, but these days, they’re nothing short of critical.
Follow Matt on his socials:
Buy “The Night Will Find Us”
Written by Colleen Bement
