Interview with Matthew Arnold Stern 

Click on link​​​​​​ for website version. Scroll halfway down.

 

T.C. Correy is the author of the thriller If Only He Never, which is available in paperback and eBook on Amazon and many other places.

 

Tell us about yourself

I'm originally from Switzerland, but I moved to Australia nearly 20 years ago even though there's no family history here. You’ll find a few "I don’t know whys" in this interview. That's one of them. But it's where I always wanted to be.

 

How did you get started in writing?

Well, I've always been a huge movie buff. This might sound a little funny, but back in the day—and they might still exist—I used to buy screenplay books. Not the novels adapted into movies. I still have one for Gladiator. So, when I couldn't find such a book for certain movies, I decided on writing them myself. An Officer and a Gentleman and Footloose are a couple of examples. That's how I got hooked on writing. I began with my own version of Footloose and wrote some short stories in German. I also wrote a novel based in Australia, but when I moved down under (Australia), life got in the way. The voices, however, were always with me and grew louder when I left my husband. I picked up the pen again and haven’t stopped writing since. 

 

What inspired you to write If Only He Never?

To be honest, I don’t know where that book came from. I'd planned a break from writing after completing a thriller trilogy within 2 years. I was still trying to wrap my head around the whole query process, competitions, and so forth. Let alone English. But my brain had other plans.

 

The entire concept of If Only He Never started with a man being called to a condo by a woman he’d only just met, only to discover a dead woman he didn’t know. I had the first 10K words within days. But I’m a total pantser, and the puzzle started because I honestly didn’t know who this dead woman was. Then I had scenes I wrote and didn’t know how to weave them into the story. What's more, my creative journey led me to explore subjects like cancer, DNA, science, and conspiracy. It was the research that truly captivated me, especially when I discovered how much is concealed from us and what we're not supposed to know. I enjoy delving into that kind of information. And trust me, I had to dig deep to find certain things. I think I got a little off track here, but in short, there was no inspiration as such. The story found me, if that makes sense. And it took me over one year to complete If Only He Never because of all the research involved.

 

What has been your most rewarding experience in writing?

Every five-star review is a confirmation that I am succeeding is one of them. But what I love most about writing is that I can dive into a different world and forget anything around me. 

 

What advice would you give to new writers?

When trying to get traditionally published, follow the submission guidelines. If you don't, you're not only wasting their time. You are wasting yours too because chances of succeeding are very low if you don’t. And this also might sound very harsh, but they are not waiting for you. A truth I had to learn first, too. But again, follow the rules. Don’t just send the entire manuscript because you think the book is sooooo great. If they ask for five pages, you send five pages. Not ten, not twenty. If they say don’t attach them, but include them in the email, then you do so. It's a long, long road. Trust me. Many give up. But most of all, don't give up. Especially in the query circus.

 

Where can readers learn more about you?

My website is https://tccorrey.wixsite.com/thrillers You can sign up for the newsletter I’m planning on starting hopefully by December or January at the latest. 

 

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I’m mainly on Facebook in regards to active social media (https://www.facebook.com/tc.correy). Linktr.ee has all my links (https://linktr.ee/tccorrey).