Matt Rogers began self-publishing at the young age of 18, and in the following eight years he single-handedly wrote and marketed more than 35 thriller novels. His books have collectively sold over one million copies.
Good Reading spoke with the author on the eve of his new book Forsaken, an edge of your seat thriller about a former contract killer for the CIA.
ABOUT THE BOOK
For ten years, Logan Booth served as a contract killer for the CIA – he just never knew it. In the twilight of his career, Logan learns he has been a vessel for furthering government interests, not a rogue hitman for a band of vigilantes. The revelation destroys him and, adrift in forced retirement, he spirals into a pit of self-loathing.
But when Jorge Romero – an investigative reporter and Logan’s oldest friend – is brutally and inexplicably murdered, Logan allows his fury to deliver him from despair.
With an ally in Alice Mason, a homeless witness with a target on her back, Logan goes to war. Against whom, he isn’t sure, but he knows powerful forces are at work behind the scenes. After all, Jorge was set to publish an op-ed on drug deaths and political inaction that would make an enemy of the mayor of New York.
Now, to deliver justice, Logan and Alice must confront their demons and survive a savage battle that could change their lives forever.
MEET MATT ROGERS
What inspired your novel The Forsaken?
I’ve always written cinematically, so I usually envision a book I’m planning to write as a movie in my head first. The initial inspiration for The Forsaken came as the thought: ‘Could the heavy philosophy of a show like True Detective be worked into a relentless thriller plot, with action akin to the John Wick or Mad Max movies?’
From the young age of six you started writing stories – where did you get your love of reading and storytelling from?
I’d love to say writing was something I consciously chose, but I’ve been reading since four and writing since six, so I guess a love of storytelling was built in from the get-go. I’ve lost myself in stories for as long as I can recall, and I think I always knew creative writing was something I was going to do professionally in one way or another, no matter how long it took to make that happen. I never write with an audience in mind, just what I’d personally love to read, which has helped maintain a passion for storytelling all these years.
What can you tell us about your character Logan and the obstacles he will face in this story?
Logan Booth faces as many obstacles as you can possibly imagine in 350 pages: constant physical danger, deep emotional turmoil, and a full-blown existential crisis to boot. He’s an assassin who believed he was working for a group of vigilantes his whole career, just to find out he was only ever being manipulated by the CIA to do their dirty work. The Forsaken sees him in forced retirement, pulled into a quest to avenge his best friend’s death. Logan unites with a young homeless woman, Alice, and together they work to re-discover meaning in a world that has beaten them down at every turn.
The Forsaken is set in New York – what drew you to this setting and how does it add to the action filled story?
I’ve always written American characters because that’s what shaped my reading journey. First there were thriller characters like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp (it was one of the highlights of my career to receive an endorsement for The Forsaken from Kyle Mills, author of nine ‘Mitch Rapp’ novels), and on top of that, my favourite writer of all-time is Don Winslow, also an American. Don’s books are as good as crime writing gets, particularly ‘The Cartel’ trilogy, his magnum opus on the horrors and overall futility of the War on Drugs. I never thought of setting The Forsaken anywhere other than New York, mostly because it gave me the most creatively interesting arena to play within. New York is iconic, larger than life, and at the same time home to staggering greed and corruption. The ambition at the core of the Big Apple can inspire and repulse in equal measure, which made it a perfect fit for The Forsaken‘s themes.
You are an avid ultramarathon runner and mountain trekker. In what ways has this informed the physical and mental characteristics of your characters?
I write action-heavy novels with life-or-death conflicts occurring multiple times per book. Having never been in such situations myself, I like putting my body and mind to the test every now and then – usually with a high-altitude trek in Nepal, which I’ve done four times now – to get a better sense of what it feels like to push my limits. Last year I attempted a summit of Baruntse Peak, 7,162m above sea level, and the challenges of the climb had a direct positive impact on my writing, because I found better ways to describe what my characters were going through in gruelling situations.
Prior to getting picked up by a mainstream publisher you self-published over 30 books. Can you tell us about your writing journey?
At 18 years old, I took a gap year from studying law at Monash University to self-publish my first thriller novel through Kindle Direct Publishing. After the first book sold well, I began treating it like my full-time job right away, not wanting to take the initial results for granted. 30+ books sounds insane in hindsight, but it was just a matter of setting a word count (usually 1,500) each day that I worked, and making sure I got it done. This led to producing a full-length novel every 3-4 months, including planning and professional editing. A book called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield was indispensable in helping me find ways around procrastination.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer trying to break into the industry?
What’s helped me the most over the years is the mindset of writing with no regard for the results. That doesn’t mean you put in less effort – it just means doing the best you can each day and accepting that the rest isn’t up to you. I never wrote with the intention of selling a certain number of copies, that was just the byproduct of obsessing over storytelling. I think, especially in today’s day and age, we can fixate on the success stories plastered all over social media, and it makes us think that our first attempt at creating something has to work or we’re not good enough. If you can shift your mindset to, ‘The goal is just to create something, that’s it,’ then you’re going to become a much better writer because you’ll inevitably start writing more, with less pressure on your shoulders to succeed immediately.
The Forsaken is the first book in your new series – what lies ahead for Logan?
I’d love to say Logan’s life is going to get easier after The Forsaken, but that wouldn’t exactly make for an entertaining thriller series. I’ve already finished writing the sequel, and it’s going to take the carnage to a whole new level. But my modus operandi with these books is that the thrills have to exist for a reason, not just for the sake of mindless action, so you can expect deeper and deeper character exploration with each tumultuous event in Logan’s storied life. I can’t wait for everyone to see what’s coming next for him and Alice.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Rogers is the internationally bestselling author of the’ Dante Jacoby’ series. His stories weave stimulating philosophy with relentless, page-turning action, and he aims to educate and entertain in equal measure. As an ultramarathon runner and mountain trekker, Matt enjoys exploring the capabilities of the body and mind, lending experiential weight to his visceral writing.
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