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MAY UPDATE (9 May, 2013) Hi there everyone, Well, I am getting revved up about THE TOURNAMENT. Only a few months to go now. Everyone who has read it so far (in-house people and close friends) has loved it. I am most pleased when they say it’s still very much a “Matthew Reilly book”, full of pace and excitement; it just happens to be set in 1546. That is exactly what I am after. I will give one warning though. THE TOURNAMENT is not for the faint-hearted. It is scary and gruesome in parts, and it contains very adult themes. As I said about SCARECROW AND THE ARMY OF THIEVES (which I did not recommend for readers under 13), I have always written for adults – even though many teenagers have taken to my books – and THE TOURNAMENT is a very much an adult book in terms of plot and themes. Oh, and reading some of your comments, I can confirm that the tournament in question is NOT a gladiatorial one. I won’t be revealing what kind of tournament it is yet, but it is not gladiatorial! DELOREAN MUSINGS I drove my DeLorean to dinner last night. Another driver gave me a big thumbs-up and a smile. After dinner, I returned to the D to find a business card on it, with the handwritten message: “I am interested in buying your car.” I’m afraid I won’t be selling. Owning a DeLorean is a singularly joyful experience. Every single day when I walk out of my house and see it parked on the street, I smile. It glints in the sun. Its lines are perfect. The visual palindrome that is the DMC logo is just awesome. I drive it for fun, for a cruise to the gym or to dinner, certainly not for performance. Sitting in the D’s broad, low interior is otherworldly. There is, quite simply, no other car like it. It is a piece of quintessential 1980s art. It could only have been made in the 80s, the era of power suits, leg warmers and Huey Lewis and the News. And I find that other people love it, too – the comments about ‘Back the Future’, the question as to whether or not it has a flux capacitor (it does), the photos people take of it at traffic lights. And I am always happy to talk about it. I once chatted with some cops at a random breath test about it! (Don’t worry, I passed.) My DeLorean, I fear, is not for sale and probably never will be. Now, back to the keyboard… Talk soon, Matthew Reilly
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| MARCH UPDATE (12 March, 2013)
Hi there everyone, A big announcement today! The announcement of the title of my upcoming novel! The title of my next book is… THE TOURNAMENT. The year is 1546. Europe lives in fear of the powerful Islamic empire to the East. Under its charismatic Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, it is an empire on the rise. It has defeated Christian fleets. It has conquered Christian cities. Then the Sultan sends out an invitation to every king in Europe: send forth your champion to compete in a tournament unlike any other. We follow the English delegation, selected by King Henry VIII himself, to the glittering city of Constantinople, where the most amazing tournament ever staged will take place. But when the stakes are this high, not everyone plays fair, and for our team of plucky English heroes, winning may not be the primary goal. As a series of barbaric murders take place, a more immediate goal might simply be staying alive… **** That’s how I’d describe it. It’s fast, it’s thrilling, it has heaps of twists and turns, and it’s very, very grisly in places. I love it and I can’t wait to unleash it on the world! I hope you enjoy it. It’ll be out in Australia in November and I’ll be on the road, looking forward to seeing as many of you as I can. IN OTHER NEWS… I’ve been doing some speeches lately – from Dalby Library in Queensland to Cranbourne Library in Victoria and a bunch of places in between. I’ve met many lovely fans and would like to thank the various libraries for having me. (I’ll be at Holroyd Library in Merrylands in Sydney this Thursday night, March 14.) I am also, just quietly, absolutely blazing my way through a new novel. I’m very excited about it and thrilled to feel the creative juices flowing so freely. It’s not a historical novel like THE TOURNAMENT and it’s not a sequel to any of my existing series. It’s an epic techno-thriller set in the present day and it absolutely rocks. If I keep going at my current rate, I may – no promises here – get it out in 2014, so my readers will get two books in two consecutive years, something I haven’t done in a long while. If I can make this happen, I will. Which means I’d better get back to the keyboard! Wishing you all the very best, Matthew Reilly |
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| JANUARY UPDATE (21 January, 2013)
Hi there everyone, I said I’d be back in 2013, bigger and better than ever, and I am! After a very quiet 2012, I’m feeling invigorated and renewed…and I am throwing myself back into life. It’s going to be a hell of a year. THE NEW NOVEL! First, in OCTOBER, there will be the release of my new novel, the one I have mentioned before that is set in 1546. It has a title but I can’t reveal that just yet. But I can say that it is “Matthew Reilly meets The Name of the Rose” – which means it’s fast and scary and also filled with lots of historical detail and grisly murders. I am thrilled with it and can’t wait to unleash it on the world. I feel like I’m sitting on dynamite. The hero is awesome. WRITING AGAIN I have also thrown myself into writing a new book. It’s not a Scarecrow novel or a Jack West Jr book. It’s got a whole new hero, some of the best scary creatures I’ve ever written about and it rocks. (I get asked a lot if I will write a new Scarecrow or Jack West novel, and I am sure I will – I quite enjoy writing sequels. But as an author, there are times when you feel like writing something totally new and that’s where I’m at now.) If I get it done by the end of this year, maybe I’ll do a double-header and release two books in consecutive years, 2013 and 2014. No promises, but I think I can! MY RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK IDOL (see photo below) A good friend of mine came round the other day and during his visit, I left the room. Later I discovered that my prized RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK idol had been replaced with a little sack filled with sand! (See the photo.) Just like Indy did in RAIDERS. Very clever! With friends like these… I wish you all the very best for 2013 and hope to see you somewhere in my travels (I have a bunch of school and library visits coming up in February/March, so keep an eye out for updates). All the very best, Matthew Reilly
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| SPECIAL DECEMBER UPDATE (12 December, 2012)
Dear all, This may seem silly, but I would like to offer something to those of you who lose someone dear to them. It is a poem. I wrote it late one night during the raw and awful first week after my wife, Natalie, died around this time last year, and it was read aloud at her funeral. It may not be the best poem ever written, but it was what I felt a t that time and it may reflect what you feel.If you find it difficult to find the words, please use mine and do so with my blessing. I would be honoured. **** It is like We won’t go for walks together with the dog anymore Nat, you were my everything, It is like **** It has been just over a year since my wife died. Over the last twelve months I have experienced the greatest lows in my life but also, thanks to many amazing and special people, some of the most joyful times as well. I value happiness much more now. My wife’s death brought me to my knees. I wish you all a very happy Christmas and thank every single one of you for your incredibly kind messages of support over this last year. I will be back in 2013, bigger and better than ever. Matthew Reilly
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| October Update (13 October 2012)
Hello everyone, I’m very sorry for the delay between updates! The reason: I’ve been lying low, busily doing revisions on my 1500s novel.I’m really pleased with it – it absolutely rockets along and the mystery-thriller plot is a cracker. That book is set to be released in October 2013. UPCOMING SPEECHES I have some appearances/speeches coming up in October and November, starting with Leichhardt Library this coming Tuesday:Oct 16: Leichhardt Library
Oct 19: Singleton Library (NSW), Oct 25: Williamstown Library, Hobson’s Bay (Vic) Nov 5-6: Minlaton (SA, evening function)I’ll also be doing a few speeches at some schools, but I don’t put up the details for those events here. Watch my Twitter page (@Matthew_Reilly) for more updates.NEW STORIESApart from that, now that the 1500s book is almost done, I am thinking about new stories and new challenges. Gotta do new things in this new life of mine. This may involve a new story featuring the Black Knight, Aloysius Knight…!Hope you are all well.Matthew Reilly Sydney, Australia
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| June Update (6 June 2012)
Hi everyone, Well, it’s time. Time to get back out there into the world again, at least in small doses. With this in mind, I have accepted a few invitations to speak at libraries and other events in the coming months. SUPANOVA First up is SUPANOVA, the pop culture expo. I’ll be appearing at both the Sydney and Perth Supanovas [Sydney: June 16-17; Perth: June 23-24]. Since I live in Sydney, I’ll be bringing my DeLorean along, so people can sit in it and take a photo or two (don’t worry, I don’t charge a fee!). I can’t bring my lifesized Han Solo in carbonite, as he is bolted to the wall of my office, but attached is a pic. Like Jabba, I like Captain Solo just where he is…near Mr Potato Head, a Duff beer can and my putting mat.
LIBRARY TALKS I am also going to speak at a handful of local and regional libraries over the coming months – first up will be TAMWORTH LIBRARY on Saturday, July 7. Later in the year I’ll be going to CAIRNS (Qld), LEICHHARDT and SINGLETON (NSW), HOBSON’S BAY (Vic) and regional SOUTH AUSTRALIA, so if you live in or near any of those places, come along and say hi. ME I’m doing okay. In the last few weeks, I have started to feel like my old self. Now I feel it’s time to get back on the horse and do what I do: get out there and meet my fans, and try to entertain people. Until next month, I wish you all well. Matthew Reilly
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| May Update (11 May, 2012)
Dear all, Well, I am back from my trip to the United States. It was a great trip, both professionally and personally. It was the transition I was looking for. I did some Hollywood meetings in LA and played some golf in Arizona. But the main reason for my trip was to attend a series of public-private seminars in Washington DC at which some heavy-hitters in the government/military world spoke off-the-record (yes, that means I cannot use any of it in my novels!). Some highlights of my trip: Second best speaker: General David Petraeus. He is now the Director of the CIA. So impressive. Best speaker: a most impressive young Czech woman named Petra who spoke at the Indonesian Embassy about her remarkable efforts building schools and kindergartens in disaster-ravaged countries like Indonesia and Haiti. Amazing. She just blew me away. Some people are really doing incredible things out there. Most fun golf game: I met up with some great golfing buddies in San Francisco and played The Olympic Golf Club (which will be hosting the US Open in a few weeks). Best golf story: on one golf course in Scottsdale, Arizona, I encountered a couple of not-so-good golfers and gave them some tips (I play off 2). We then played the last few holes together. Turned out, they were the chief executives of a major eco-friendly German corporation named Schuco – now I might play golf with them in Germany later this year! And all because I gave them a few friendly tips! All in all, I have returned home with a little more hope than I left with and this is a good thing. I still shed tears: sometimes when I read something, sometimes for no apparent reason at all. Wearing reflective sunglasses helps. I still see something and think, “You know, I should tell Nat about that when I get home” and then I realise that that cannot happen anymore. But I may have learned to hope again and this could be the best thing that has happened to me these last six months. To paraphrase my good friend, Scarecrow, I might even be ready to get back to work (I have accepted some invitations to speak at some regional libraries and will appear at Supanova Sydney and Supanova Perth in June). My very best to you all, Matthew Reilly |
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| Hi all,
Well, I’m back with an update. I feel like a “turn a corner” every couple of weeks. Turned some big corners this last month, including:I laughed wholeheartedly for the first time. (Thanks Simmo.)I had fun for the first time. (Thanks to Chris and Greg, my VPC teammates and my new American friends.)I had genuinely creative thoughts for the first time, including one great new idea for a novel.And I did some more writing on some smaller projects. When your life is shattered into a thousand pieces, you slowly set about picking them all up and putting them back together. You rebuild yourself. This means “re-learning” many things: like laughing, or how to have fun, or how to be alone with your thoughts. Thanks to everyone who commented on this Facebook page – I read every post and I was genuinely moved by the wisdom, decency and sheer kindness that was shown to me. I even printed out a dozen of the comments and stuck them above my desk. Thank you. I’ve decided that this will be a last “sad” post I will do. When I return to posting more regularly, I will be posting about more upbeat things: books and stories and getting back out there in the world. I will be in Burnie on March 13-14, and I am determined to put on a good show there. I am on my way back. Matthew Reilly |
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| Dear everyone,
It has been a month since I corresponded with you all, so I thought it was time to send out an update. First, thank you all for your lovely Facebook comments and emails. They were thoughtful, kind and inspirational, and they gave me strength when I really needed it. Every author should have fans like you in his corner (or, as many of you put it, “Mothers”). With the incredible support of family, friends and colleagues in the book industry, I have spent the past two months rebuilding my mind and my life.At first, even the smallest thing—like just walking the dog—was painful. (God, I can only imagine what the people of my neighbourhood thought about this ghost of a guy, with headphones in his ears and his head bent, walking aimlessly with his little black dog.) But slowly, gradually, I have started to see the world again and even, occasionally, smile. Some of you have asked about my UK book tour for Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves. Sadly, it has been cancelled. The decision was made because of recent upheavals in the UK book industry but it was probably going to be a stretch for me anyway. This is a double shame, as my previous UK tour in January 2010 was foiled by the unusually heavy snowfalls then. My UK publisher, Orion, has promised to bring me there for my next novel, the mystery-thriller set in the 1500s. As for Australia: late last year, before all this happened, I committed to go to the lovely town of Burnie, Tasmania, in March. I will honour this commitment. It will be my first public engagement since Natalie’s death, but if anyone will look after me, it’s the good people of Burnie. Oh, and a few days ago, I started writing again…and I actually enjoyed it. I grow a little stronger every day. Thank you. Thank you all. I’ll get back to you on the 1st of next month. Matthew |
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| Dear all
A few of you have noticed that my website, Facebook and Twitter pages have all gone silent over the past month. I also cancelled the last eight signings of my Australian book tour. The reason is that in early December, my beloved wife Natalie died. She was 36. I am devastated and trying to come to terms with this awful event. I am not sure when I will resume public book duties, but I am sure you will all understand if I take a break from online communications for a while. Thank you. Matthew Reilly |
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THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! A BIG RELEASE AND EVEN BIGGER SIGNING QUEUES! – 31.10.11 |
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| My sincere thanks to everyone out there for making SCARECROW AND THE ARMY OF THIEVES the biggest book release in Australia this year! THIEVES has just recorded the biggest opening week of sales for ANY book in Australia this year.Times are tight and I know that you could choose to spend your hard-earned money on other things. This is why I worked so hard to ensure that THIEVES delivered everything you would expect from a Matthew Reilly book — it’s big, fast, thrilling and fun. The response has been fantastic.A big THANK YOU also to everyone who has come out to the book signings! I’ve been totally overwhelmed by the turnouts — the lines this year have been bigger than ever before and I have had to scribble madly to keep up with the ever-growing queues!! The long lines have literally stopped shopping malls (one mall had to stay open late since the line was still massive when the mall shut!).Thank you, thank you, thank you. Matthew |
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JACK WEST JR TV SERIES – 07.09.11 |
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| ABC US Network Television has just bought the rights to the Jack West Jr. books that are going to be made into a TV series by ABC US Studios. The producer is the powerhouse Mark Gordon (Speed, Grey’s Anatomy) and the writer is Michael Seitzman (North Country). | ||
| ABC Buys Action Adventure Drama From Michael Seitzman and Mark Gordon | ||
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