Matthew Langdon Cost
Matthew Langdon Cost has wanted to be a writer since age eight. I Am Cuba is his first traditionally published novel. He has also self-published another work of historical fiction, Joshua Chamberlain and the Civil War: At Every Hazard. Encircle Publications will be publishing his Mainely Mystery trilogy over the course of the next year: Mainely Power is due out in September, Mainely Fear in December, and Mainely Blackmail in May of 2021. Over the years, Cost has owned a video store, a mystery bookstore, and a gym. He has also taught history and coached just about every sport imaginable. He now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. A Chocolate Lab and a Bassett Hound round out the mix. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.
Twitter: @MattCost8
Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music while you write?
Jazz has certainly influenced two of my books. My recently published “I Am Cuba; Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution” and my yet to be published “Love in a Time of Hate; New Orleans During Reconstruction. My desk is in the living room of my house and I put on the noise-cancelling headphones and put jazz music on and write. The music doesn’t enter into my Goff Langdon Mainely Mystery trilogy, but I did listened while I wrote.
What’s the oddest thing a reader has ever asked you?
I get a similar question from readers and reviewers alike that flummoxes me. This is best expressed in a recent review of “I Am Cuba”, in which the reviewer stated that my book was a one-sided view of Fidel Castro and didn’t hint at the despot that he was to become. The problem with this is that my historical ends on January 8 th, 1959. At this point, Fidel Castro was a messiah-like figure in Cuba and a hero to the entire world. On the day that my book ends, Ed Sullivan interviews him for US television and compares him to George Washington. I would be happy to debate whether or not Fidel Castro really became a despot or not as long as it understood that there was hint of that in the man that came to power in 1959.
Vacation druthers… City or Rural destination? Why?
For a week I would have to go with city as it is fun to explore everything they offer. Top trips have included Paris, Budapest, New Orleans, Havana, and Chicago. For a longer period of time I like rural as I tire of people being on top of me. For the past three years my wife and I have, along with out two dogs, have gone to Edisto Beach in South Carolina for six weeks and it is wonderful. It is too for north for people looking for warm weather and too cold for the locals to go out, so we get the beach to ourselves.
What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?
I enjoy both parts and truly think, for me, anyway, that they complement each other well. Sitting down at my desk each morning with a cup of coffee is the best possible way to start the day, but staring at a computer screen for too long has been known to do strange things to my mind. To this end, I like the part of doing book signings and presentations. It gets me out from my chair, away from the screen, and interacting with people. This Covid-19 has messed that up for me and others, which is too bad, but most others have it worse than me. Quarantined is often my normal and keeps me writing.
What brings you great joy?
I guess the first thought would be the happiness of my kids, spending time with my wife, and walking the dogs in the woods. Personally, writing and doing presentations bring me great joy, and therefore I have the best job that I could possibly have. It is my hobbies, such as golf, that bring me frustration, not my career.
