Matthew FitzSimmons
Author Interview - Matthew FitzSimmons
Author of Constance
In the near future, advances in medicine and quantum computing make human cloning a reality. For the wealthy, cheating death is the ultimate luxury. To anti-cloning militants, it’s an abomination against nature. For young Constance “Con” D’Arcy, who was gifted her own clone by her late aunt, it’s terrifying. After a routine monthly upload of her consciousness—stored for that inevitable transition—something goes wrong. When Con wakes up in the clinic, it’s eighteen months later. Her recent memories are missing. Her original, she’s told, is dead. If that’s true, what does that make her? The secrets of Con’s disorienting new life are buried deep. So are those of how and why she died. To uncover the truth, Con is retracing the last days she can recall, crossing paths with a detective who’s just as curious. On the run, she needs someone she can trust. Because only one thing has become clear: Con is being marked for murder—all over again.
Author Interview - Matthew FitzSimmons
Author I draw inspiration from: This would be a long list and liable to change from day to day. But an author who is always at the forefront of my mind would be the great James Baldwin who was brilliant on the page and equally eloquent in person.
Author Interview - Matthew FitzSimmons | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: Anywhere with a view. I don't know what it says about me, but the better the scenery, the better the reading. Strange, because in theory, if I'm reading a good book what am I doing looking around?
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I figure he'd get us out of the elevator in style. And if not, it would be a good time watching him try.
Author Interview - Matthew FitzSimmons | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: Three different occasions: In the 8th grade, when I wrote a fifty page story for a ten-page assignment. When I was twenty-five and decided I would write a great novel and then, decidedly, did not. And finally in my early 40s when my work as an English teacher rekindled a love of writing that I was sure had been snuffed out the last time. Third time was, in fact, the charm.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Hardback if it's a book I know I'll treasure, ebook if I'm traveling and just looking to be distracted from my airplane seat, paperback if I'm in a bookstore and it catches my eye.
The last book I read: Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguru. He only publishes books every four or five years, and everyone is an event for me.
Author Interview - Matthew FitzSimmons | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: I keep a notebook with me at all times, but when it comes to writing, a computer. I don't know how people wrote so beautifully one hundred years ago, but I like to think Jane Austen would have adored cut & paste.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Sully from Richard Russo's Nobody's Fool. He seems like he'd be a fun, curmudgeonly guy to hangout with. It's possible this has a lot to do with Paul Newman's performance in the movie, and I'll admit freely that I'm a sucker for all things Newman.
Author Interview - Matthew FitzSimmons | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: I was a teacher for twelve years before my first book was published. It was a fantastic experience that I think about and draw on all the time. I could see myself back in a classroom very easily.
Favorite decade in fashion history: The 40s. I'm a sucker for a well-fitted suit yet rarely wear anything dressier than jeans. I'm a man of many mysteries...
Place I’d most like to travel: Argentina & Chile. I've heard wonderful things about both countries from friends who've spent time there, and it's captured my imagination.
My signature drink: A can of Coke. Over ice. Poured slowly into a glass tilted at a forty-five degree angle. It's a whole thing.
Favorite artist: Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. One of the last great French painters before the Impressionists swept everything else aside. I see his paintings as a bridge between the old style and what was to come, with elements and shades of both. I think that appeals to me as an idea. Plus, they're just beautiful.
Number one on my bucket list: I've been a Liverpool football fan since I was seven years old but have only ever been to one game at Anfield. I would spend a fall in the city, writing and living, and go to all the games.
Anything else you'd like to add: Thanks for having me on. This was a blast.
Find more from the author:
Twitter: @MatthewFitz_1
Instagram: matthewfitzsimmonsbooks
