Q&A with Matt Cost

 

 

Matt Cost is the author of the new novel Mainely Angst, the fourth in his Goff Langdon series, which also includes Mainely Power. A former history teacher and coach, he lives in Brunswick, Maine.

 

Q: This is your fourth book about your character Goff Langdon. What inspired the plot of this new novel?

 

A: I was trying to avoid writing about Covid-19 but found I was unable. It was a real thing, a living presence, and could not be ignored.

 

I decided that a fictional book exploring the polarizing effects of the pandemic might just be a step toward healing and one that my readers might enjoy. I tried very hard to not take a side, even though some of the characters do, and give viewpoints from both believers and nonbelievers.

 

Q: What kind of research did you do for this latest book, and did you learn anything that especially intrigued you?

 

A: Well, again, the research was into the Covid-19, which gave me a much better handle on what this virus really was, and that was fascinating.

 

But even more so was the facts of what some people in this country and the world actually believe, and where they are getting these facts from. The whole concept of QAnon and the followers who analyze what they call the “breadcrumbs” to find a deeper meaning to their life was absolutely shocking to me.

 

Q: Are there things about Goff Langdon that still surprise you, even though you've been writing a lot about him?

 

A: Goff Langdon is a real person to me, and as a real person, is always evolving and changing. In this book he is tested by the secrets of his friends and how he will react to that and what he will share with Chabal and what he will keep from her. This is something that many of us face in our relationships and must make an individual decisions about.

 

Q: How have readers reacted to Goff Langdon?

 

A: Langdon seems to be a widely liked protagonist for his laid-back approach to life with fundamental principles that he adheres to. His relationships with wife and friends seem to be the staple of who he is. Readers have responded to that and will keep him coming back to the pages for more in the series.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Book three and four in the Clay Wolfe/Port Essex series, Mouse Trap and Honey Trap, are with the publisher and will be coming out in April and September of next year.

 

I am currently working on a PI novel set in 1923 Brooklyn. The working title is Brooklyn Eight Ballo. The PI is of Hungarian descent and was the eighth child, and when his gender surprised his mother, was given the placeholder name of Eight. That never got changed.

 

He is hired to find a missing woman, and this will take Eight weaving his way through the streets of New York City in a time of Prohibition, jazz, gangsters, and various legendary people. So far, Eight has crossed paths with Dorothy Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, and Babe Ruth. More to come.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: It is a great thing to create books and have people read them. Thank you to all the readers of the world. Write on.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Matt Cost.