Q&A with Mathew Ortiz

TBG: Hello, Matt, thank you for visiting The Blogger Girls!  I think you are a new author to The Blogger Girls, well, except for JustJen, since she just read your newest Love and Salvage series book, Halestorm, so we thought it would be nice to get to know you a little better by asking you a few questions.

Tell us a little something about yourself we might not already know? 

Matt:  Well, I’m an army brat born in Nuremberg, Germany and raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas. I knew early on that I was gay and that I didn’t want to live in my home town. It was too constrictive. My mother said it was the gypsy blood in my veins that compelled me to travel, and she was right. I am intensely curious and open to so many new things. I played the cello for almost seven years; I can frame a house and do most renovations myself. I prefer to do it myself, that way I know it’s done right.

I’ve had my troubles, bad relationships and such. I also suffered from poor body image and starved myself to 190lbs to be thin. I was way too thin for my eastern European build. I was thin and could wear anything, but I was miserable the entire time. In my late thirties, I gained weight, but finally came into my own and love me for me. Oh, and I am a car diva. I sing out loud and proud!

TBG: Tell us a quirky story about your Husband.

Matt:  He’s going to kill me but when we were first together, Tim had a habit of gesturing wildly with his arms when he talked. Like some crazy chicken. After a few years of this, I was sitting across from him at a restaurant, him flapping away and I said “You look like a deranged gay chicken when you do that with your arms.” I flapped my arms to prove the point. He was so mad at me. But from that point, if I said the word ‘arms,’ he would stop flapping. Love my big gay chicken though!

TBG:  How do you get your husband to leave you alone long enough to get all your writing done?

Matt:  In the beginning, he was not sure what to make of my new passion for writing. At times, I think he was miffed at the time I was spending writing. He would keep interrupting, and I would lose my groove. We butted heads a few times in the beginning. He never read my early works, and it wasn’t until Love and Salvage: Eli’s Three Wishes that he picked up the book and read it. He was amazed. He did a complete one eighty. He now reads them and helps me with first run editing. In the end, he became one of my best cheerleaders and now asks me if I’m going to write that day and he leaves me be. He’s a great guy.

TBG: Ok, now for the book-related questions. Tell us a bit about the Love and Salvage series and Halestorm. What was your inspiration for writing them and where did you get the idea for the salvage company?  

Matt:  I had just finished the Cookies and Coffee mini books and was trolling through the channels one late night on the TV and found Duck Dynasty. I found myself laughing at the things they were doing and relating to them. So, I got sidetracked and did Love and Salvage. Junk collectors who made a business of selling salvage. Two of my favorite shows are Salvage Dawgs and Rehab Addict. I love old homes!

Halestorm came about because I loved that Hale was a northerner, living with his friend Alex in the sticks of Georgia. A true fish out of water. Hale was me when I was younger. I didn’t appreciate the south and wanted none of it, like Hale. He hates everything about the south. He thought they were all backward and wanted to leave as soon as he could. Then, he met Bumper. My focus with Hale was that over time, those opinions he had of the south and southerners changed. A loner, Hale found himself taken in by a big loving southern family and treated with respect. Southerners are like that. We adopt people into our families and treat them like kin.

TBG: Did you have to do a lot of research?

Matt:  For my upcoming Oswald Witches series, I did more research than ever before. I looked up herbs used for magical purposes, mystical creatures and current paranormal research in the area of the supernatural. Thanks to a friend on Facebook, I was able to set the basic premise for all the powers of the witches. This new series will go all the way back to the Black Plague, which ravaged Europe and how it was directly caused by the war between the four clans. So I have researched on the spread of the Plague, how it traveled and where it was the most virulent. It’s my most ambitious series yet, so my outline is extensive.

TBG:  How do you know so much about “red neck” families, and how did you come up with some of the more unusual character names, such as Bumper’s real name – Wilberforce?

Matt:  I grew up in redneck territory and was a hunting, fishing, barefoot hillbilly myself, with a southern twang. I loved growing up southern. The manners, the friendliness of the people, it was a great time, but it did have its negatives. Being gay in the south is difficult to say the least. I got harassed and called ‘faggot’, ‘queer’ and ‘cocksucker’. I was beaten up more than a few times. Yet, I wouldn’t change being raised in a southern town for anything. I thought, why not set a series in the south and blend rednecks, crazy family and gay men. I drew off experiences and the stories flowed. It was like going home. My sister gave me a great line that I used in one of my books. Redneck pate! Potted meat on a saltine cracker with an olive slice! I laugh every time I read that.  And as to Bumper’s given name, if you ever read the comic ‘The Born Loser’, the child was named Wilberforce. I was already sure I was calling Bumper ‘Bumper’, as nicknames are common in the south. What I needed was a name which he would cringe at, if he was called by it. So Bumper’s real name is Wilberforce. Wouldn’t you rather go by Bumper?

TBG:  Are any of the characters in any of the three books in the series derived from real life people in your life?

Matt:  Funny you should ask that because, in all honesty, Oscar and Eli are a lot like Tim and I. Tim is a ball of emotional energy, and I sit back relax and just grunt sometimes. He is the hyper one, and I’m the calm one. Of all the characters I have written, those two are the most like us. When Tim read Eli’s book, he looked up when he was done and said. “Oh my God, they’re us, aren’t they!?” I couldn’t deny it.

And Oscar’s Abuela is modeled after my own friend Luz. She is exactly like her character in my book. I have used co-workers as basis for characters since the beginning. I work with some wonderful, kooky people.

TBG: How long have you been planning this series?

Matt:  Love and Salvage was a whim. I started Emmett’s story and everything evolved organically from it. The stories told themselves. I always wanted to write a character named Emmett. I first heard the name on ‘Emmett Otter’s Jugband Christmas’. Love that name! And Tim despises Emmett Otter, too hillbilly for him.

TBG: Had you planned on the story heading into paranormal territory from the inception? Where did the idea come from to make that change?

Matt:  I was going to go straight to the Oswalds, when Love and Salvage came about. I decided early on in Love and Salvage that it would be a bridge between my older series and the Oswalds. It wasn’t planned initially, but it was a happy accident. I knew by book two, Eli’s story, that I was going tie them into the Oswalds with Hale, and you’ll meet Oliver Oswald Blackthorne in the next and last Love and Salvage: Skin Tight Levi’s.

TBG:  Halestorm is the prequel to the Oswald Witches. Will we see more of the Wolves in those stories and what other Supernaturals can we expect to meet?

Matt:  Oh hell, you’re going to meet witches, dwarves, fairies, elves, trolls, werewolves and demons. My series has four clans: The Fire Clans for the demons and hellfire creatures, the Water Clans for the shape shifters, the Air Clans for the elves, ghosts and fairies, and the Earth Clan for the witches and dwarves. The only thing I am not using is vampires. I have enough as it is. I have six books planned…maybe more, and Mr. Hale McAvoy has a major part in the Oswalds. He is the un-witch witch, a perfect foil for his mystical family.

TBG: Okay, last questions: What does your workplace where you write look like? Are there any weird or interesting things you surround yourself with? Any quirks you have or favorite music you listen to that gets the inspiration flowing? 

Matt:  I have two places; I do most of my writing. First, is on my patio by the pool. The weather is so nice here in Florida, I hate staying indoors unless I have to. So, I sit out there with a cigar and a drink and pound the keys. I also have my chair, in the family room that I sit at to write in. It’s firm, comfortable, and I can sit for hours writing in it.

As for inspiration, I do listen to music but I find myself putting on a DVD from two of my favorite British sitcoms: Keeping Up Appearances and The Vicar of Dibley. The humor and the character interaction inspire me and make me laugh, even though I’ve seen all the episodes at least a dozen times. I will be watching more creepy movies, when I write the Oswald Witches. I recently went to Disney World and road the Haunted Mansion ride. The interiors inspired me and will set the tone of the Oswald house.

TBG: Thank you so much for stopping by! Best of luck with your new book and upcoming Oswald series!

Matt:  Thank so much for the interview Jen. Oh and P.S. Did I use enough commas?

About Mathew Ortiz

Mathew Ortiz has lived in sunny Florida with his partner, Tim, for the last ten years. Tim bought him a Kindle  for his birthday, and his world suddenly got a lot bigger. An avid reader, he was soon wracking up several hundred books onto his Kindle a month. So, obviously trying his hand at writing seemed to be the next logical step. He wrote his first novella one year ago and hasn’t looked back. After writing papers for people in college and for his own Bachelors in Nursing, writing for fun was a blessing. A fanboy of anything British, sumo wrestling, rugby and cooking, you can usually find him obsessing over a new cook book or sitting on the porch with his father-in-law, shooting the s**t!

That’s the official bio.

Now for me. Hi, I’m Matt, and I love writing in the gay men’s romance genre. By my own admission and my mother’s, I am a natural story teller with a very twisted sense of humor. I write characters that are flawed as people, real people because Lord knows, I’m a odd piece of work. Inspiration for my books can come from anything:  from a ring, to a house, to an odd comment by a friend. Nothing is safe or sacred with me, and if you know me, you might end up in one of my books. I find my friends to be a rich source of inspiration. So, that’s it. Just a regular guy…mostly!

Check out Mathew Ortiz at Amazon!

Halestorm

Blurb: Cursed, he must be cursed. Everything about Bumper Gaither drew Hale like a moth to a flame. When Bumper walked into the room, time stood still for Hale, and it took all he had not to scale Mount Bumper. Every fiber of Hale’s being wanted to throw himself into the big bear’s arms. There was one problem. Well not a problem, per se. How was Hale gonna tell Bumper that he was a witch……way was UP!

Bumper’s head spun, he chest grew tight, all at the sight of the spitfire named Hale McAvoy. Their blistering kiss at his Aunt and Uncle’s barbeque left him wanting more, a lot more. However, despite his best efforts, Hale steadfastly refused to go out with him, despite the obvious attraction. That only made Bumper more determined. Like a bulldog with a bone, Bumper was not letting go. So why was Hale so hesitant to go out with him?

Love and Salvage #3, Halestorm, is now available on Amazon!

In honor of Mathew Ortiz’s newest release, he’s kindly offered to give away an eBook copy of Halestorm!

The giveaway starts now and will end next Sunday, March 9th, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST. After which the lucky winner will be randomly picked.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with your email address and you’re in!

Make sure to follow the blog for the winners’ announcement post or check back next Monday, March 10th, 2014, to see if you’ve won.

You can still purchase Halestorm from Amazon and don’t forget to check out JustJen′s review to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!