Matthew Salesses’s new book The Hundred-Year-Flood was published on September 1 and received mixed reactions from the readers. The novel was described as “A masterfully written novel of self-discovery” and “Beautiful, tragic, but realistic”.
Our next guest was featured with articles in The New York Times. He is a master of essays and also is a speaker. So here is our quick chat with Matthew:

– Matthew, what is your next book The Hundred-Year-Flood about?
– It’s about an American who goes to Prague and there is asked to pose for a series of paintings by a famous artist. He gets into an affair with the artist’s wife, and they get stuck in a hundred-year flood.
– How did you decide to write the story?
– I started the book when I was living in Prague in 2004. I didn’t write the flood into the book until later.

– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– The book took eleven years to write. Most things were a challenge, but one of the biggest challenges was figuring out what the book was really about and why I was so attached to it that I would keep working on it for so long. What I was hiding from myself about the book, essentially.
– Tell us something more about your main characters Tee, Pavel and Katka? Are they close to someone from your real life?
– They’re all based on people I knew in Prague and since. Katka is probably most like me. Tee is a very flawed version of who I was at 22, which is a lot different from who I am now. Pavel is kind of a distorted version of who he once was as an artist.
– What the readers are going to find in your book I’m Not Saying, I’m Just Saying?
– It’s a book about a man who finds out he has a son he never knew about. The book is told in 115 one-page chapters.
– Give us some insight about The Last Repatriate?
– It’s based on the true story of an American POW in the Korean War who, at the end of the war, refused to return to America.
– Who are you?
– Writer, father, husband, adoptee.
– What are your writing habits?
– I wish I had time for habits. I drink coffee. I guess that’s my writing habit.
– What are you doing to promote your book by the best possible way?
– I write essays.
– When we will see your next novel and would you unveil something more about it?
– I’m working on a novel about a man who is trying to solve the murder of an alternate reality version of himself.
– In your opinion what is the best way for a writer to develop his creativity and to improve as an author?
– Make yourself vulnerable.

To learn more about Matthew Salesses check out his Webpage
Twitter

Take a look at his books
The Hundred-Year Flood
The Last Repatriate
I’m Not Saying, I’m Just Saying