1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?

I’m from New York City and I’ve always been a writer. When I was a kid, I used to create stories about my dog getting into crazy adventure but I really started to write seriously in college and at my MFA program at The New School. My first four novels have been thrillers, but I have a Sci-Fi novel called Orange City and a Young Adult series Runaway Train coming out in 2021.

2) What inspired you to write your book?

Orange City has had a long journey. It was first a short story, then a screenplay, before it became a novel. With each draft, I added more and more science fiction aspects. I think it just took that long to really build the world. My favorite science fiction has parallels to our own world, so the last four years in the United States has really shaped the novel – the idea that we can lose or democracy so easily if those in charge have their own selfish interests at heart.

3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?

Like I said, to look at democracy with caution and see how easily it can be stripped away. In Orange City, a terrible war has destroyed the country and a City emerges that will take all the outcasts and felons. They dangle a carrot branch to them in lieu of jail time, but then you are bound to the City forever. I want readers to drawn their conclusions about Orange City, but also understand that while it is a wild imagination, parts of the City have the ability to come true in our own society if we don’t protect it.

4) What drew you into this particular genre?

I’ve always wanted to try my hand at Sci-Fi. Since I write thrillers, I used those thriller elements for this book, but the science fiction aspect did not come easy. They were many drafts needed to build this world.

5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?

Probably The Man, since he is the most out there creation. I’d probably ask more about his past, because that will be a part of the second book. If I can get some inside information, maybe I’ll write it faster!

6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?

A mix, Facebook in some ways, Twitter for new followers, and Instagram for book pics.

7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?

Don’t let rejection get you down. Rejection happens to all writers and is necessary to work on your craft and become a better writer. So keep at it!

8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?

Yes! I have a Young Adult series called Runaway Train coming out April 29th about a girl in the 1990s who runs away from home after her sister dies to become a grunge singer and meet her idol Kurt Cobain. Very different from Orange City!

About the Author

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE ANCESTOR, THE MENTOR, THE DESIRE CARD and SLOW DOWN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the Prix du Polar. His first YA series RUNAWAY TRAIN is forthcoming in 2021 along with a sci-fi novel ORANGE CITY. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe, dedicated to publishing fiction that’s outside-of-the-box. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him at LeeMatthewGoldberg.com

https://twitter.com/LeeMatthewG

https://www.instagram.com/leematthewgoldberg/

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8001634.Lee_Matthew_Goldberg

Orange City (Orange City, #1) by Lee Matthew Goldberg Review