We recently had the opportunity of interviewing Matthew Peterson, whose debut young adult novel, Paraworld Zero, shares some similarities to Narnia. Fans of the Chronicles of Narnia should enjoy this book, as evidenced by the interview below. I hope that you enjoy it!
NarniaFans.com: Tell us a bit about yourself, for our readers that might not know much about you.
Mathew Peterson: I live in Arizona with my wonderful wife, five boys, and our giant African tortoise. In addition to being an author, I have a little acting experience and now some audiobook narration experience. I won the first writing contest I entered as a young teenager and again as an adult. My debut YA novel, Paraworld Zero, came out this year and placed in five book/audiobook contests and hit two bestseller lists.
NarniaFans.com: Can you give us a quick teaser for Paraworld Zero that will give us an idea of what we’re in for?
Mathew Peterson: Twelve-year-old earthling, Simon Kent, stumbles upon a secret that thrusts him into a bizarre adventure filled with magic, technology and deadly out-of-this-world creatures. He discovers a true friend, confronts his inner demons and becomes the savior to a peculiar race of people, when all he truly wants is to find his way back home. Parallel to Simon’s adventures is a mystery involving a catlike spy and a magical swordsman who both struggle to maintain peace among the paraworlds. But evil lurks in unexpected places, and few people can be trusted. Their paths ultimately lead them to Simon: the one boy who might be able to prevent the biggest assassination attempt in the known paraverse.
NarniaFans.com: What were your inspirations for the story of Paraworld Zero?
Mathew Peterson: I grew up reading C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Douglas Hill, and Lloyd Alexander. They all played a role in me wanting to create a world filled with creatures, magic, and imagination.
NarniaFans.com: What themes did you try to convey in the story?
Mathew Peterson: I tried to convey the ideas of overcoming obstacles, believing in yourself, the dangers of pride, and gaining true friendship.
NarniaFans.com: What was the hardest part of writing Paraworld Zero?
Mathew Peterson: Writing the book was easy, but I did have some major computer issues. I started writing Paraworld Zero in 1990 when I was only 14, but my computer died, along with most of my book. That was probably a blessing in disguise, since my writing abilities weren’t as mature as they are now. Many years later when Harry Potter came out, I realized that my story was very similar and that I better finish it.
NarniaFans.com: Did you learn anything from writing Paraworld Zero and what was it?
Mathew Peterson: I learned to trust in my abilities and to trust in God. A higher power seemed to drive me to write this book. It almost felt like He was writing it, and I was just the instrument. Months later, I’d find myself reading sections of Paraworld Zero and wishing I could write like this. Then I would hit myself over the head and say, “Dummy, you CAN write like this… You wrote the book!”
NarniaFans.com: How did you come up with the title?
Mathew Peterson: The title began as “Parallel Worlds” in 1990 but changed at the last moment to “Paraworld Zero” so that we could use “Parallel Worlds” as the series title. Sometimes I wonder if I should have changed it. Curiously, my domain name www.ParaWorlds.com played a role in the title as well.
NarniaFans.com: Are the experiences in the book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Mathew Peterson: Some of the things in Paraworld Zero are based loosely on my life. For instance, Harr has seven sons and one daughter, just like my parents. The main character, Simon, is based on me when I was that age, and Griffen is based on me when I was older. For example, Griffen is a skilled fighter but refuses to kill. Similarly, I’m a second degree black belt in karate, but I’ve never been in a fist fight in my life (quarrels with brothers don’t count. he he).
NarniaFans.com: What do you think Narnia fans will enjoy about the book?
Mathew Peterson: The beauty of Narnia is that it takes you to a rich world filled with creatures, magic, and adventure. The children learn to become better people. That correlates exactly with Paraworld Zero. In addition to those things, Paraworld Zero also has a sprinkling of romance and mystery.
NarniaFans.com: When and why did you begin writing?
Mathew Peterson: I began writing in my pre-teen years because of the influence of the early authors of fantasy. I actually started writing a sword and sorcery novel called The Sorcerer’s Wand but lost most of it from a computer disk failure (we didn’t have hard drives in those days). Then in 1990 (or earlier) the ideas for Paraworld Zero came strongly into my mind and wouldn’t let go until I had written them down. Even after my book was lost when I was a young teenager, I still kept the few chapters that had survived in my briefcase when I was in my twenties, to remind me that I had a talent that I wasn’t using.
NarniaFans.com: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Mathew Peterson: I would suppose it finally clicked the first time I won a writing contest, which was in 8th grade. Some of my stories had been honored before in elementary school, but I had never receive money or been interviewed by newspaper reporters until 8th grade when I placed in 2 or 3 writing contests. It was then that I realized I wanted to be an author, and it was then that I started writing Paraworld Zero.
NarniaFans.com: What inspired you to write your first book?
Mathew Peterson: I had been reading ferociously at the time. I loved how books could transport me to a new world. The ideas just came, and I wrote them down. That’s how most of my writing goes. I spend a lot of time thinking, and the ideas just flow.
NarniaFans.com: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Mathew Peterson: I have a soft spot in my heart for Douglas Hill, voted the most influential author of young adult fiction in Canada (he’s written around 70 books). He was the only author still alive who had influenced me to want to be an author. I contacted his agent, who then passed on my message to him. Douglas was flattered by my words and agreed to read my book but warned me that he would only give me a blurb for the back cover if he liked my book. To my pleasant surprise, Douglas Hill loved Paraworld Zero and gave it a wonderful blurb. We continued to communicate with each other until Douglas was killed a few months before Paraworld Zero was published.
NarniaFans.com: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Mathew Peterson: I suppose you could say he’s still fairly new, but I really enjoyed The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. I found it to be original and emotionally satisfying, without delving into the darker domains that similar books might be tempted to venture into.
NarniaFans.com: What are your current projects?
Mathew Peterson: Wow, I just finished narrating the audiobook of Paraworld Zero (which just received an award, I might add). My wife and I had to come up with over 100 unique character voices. Whew! It’s on audible.com and iTunes.com by the way, and you can go to http://ParaWorlds.com/audio/ to listen to the first chapter. I’m busy writing the second novel in the Parallel Worlds series. I had some personal distractions (my baby had heart surgery, my wife became hospitalized and then temporarily crippled for a month, etc.), plus I spent a ton of time touring, speaking, and promoting Paraworld Zero this year (5 million people heard my radio interviews). But things have become much more stable now. I hope to finish book two by the end of the month. Like book one, I feel driven to write it. It has a lot more mystery and romance in it (clean romance, I should say), and I think it’ll be even better than book one.
NarniaFans.com: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Mathew Peterson: You’ve probably already received lots of advice before, so I’ll share something you probably haven’t heard yet. Go ahead and get some grammar and punctuation books and study them. I actually read 5 of them, cover-to-cover. I found that it actually helped me to write better because I wasn’t stumbling over my sentences. And of course, never give up. It’s a long road. You won’t become rich and famous overnight, if ever. Learn the craft. Prepare to promote yourself if you get published, since publishers don’t spend much on new authors. I plan on enhancing my website in the next little while with tons of additional writing tips that I have learned.
NarniaFans.com: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Matthew Peterson: Keep reading and supporting authors. With the slump in the economy, many authors and actors are having to seek a different line of work. We need your support. Buy from your local stores, so that they can stay in business. Spread the word about great books and help motivate young people, including your siblings, to read. Be good and eat your vegetables!
