La Jolla’s Matt Coyle has done it again. This time with the third novel in the Anthony Award-winning Rick Cahill Crime Series by Matt Coyle. The third captivating book in the series called “Dark Fissures” comes out next month with a talk and signing on Dec. 6 at Warwick’s. The author of the first two in the series, “Yesterday’s Echo” and “Night Tremors” offers insight into putting pen to paper and creating a compelling series that has tons of La Jolla spots riddled through its pages. Q: When did you realize you were a writer? As a child perhaps? MC: I knew I wanted to write crime fiction when I was 13 or 14 and my late father gave me THE SIMPLE ART OF MURDER by Raymond Chandler. What took me about 30 years to figure out is that you actually have to write to become a writer. Q: What made you decide to do stories that involve La Jolla? MC: I grew up in a nice middle- class neighborhood in La Jolla. After I graduated from college, I came back to San Diego and worked for ten years in Chuck’s Steak House, a one time iconic restaurant in La Jolla. My roots are here. I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else but San Diego. Why would I? I chose La Jolla specifically because it’s known throughout the world as a slice of paradise. So, it has cache. But mostly, I like to show that paradise has a dark side, too. At least it does in my books. Q: What makes a good mystery “tick,” is it the suspense of a story.. or? MC: For me, it starts with character. I write in first person, so the reader is inside my Rick Cahill’s head the whole book. He’s given a problem, the crime, to solve. That is the catalyst. Everything else that happens come from the decisions he makes in trying to solve that crime. His decisions reveal his character. Since I write in first person, it’s more interesting to me if Rick has an investment in solving the crime or finding the truth. The outcome has to matter to him and he has to risk something in his quest to find the truth. Rick’s inner conflict is as interesting to me as the human conflict around the crime. Q: Why is reading important? How does it expand a person’s mind? MC: I believe the written word is sacred. It’s how we best express ourselves. To write well, you have to think deeply about what you’re trying to convey. So when we read something well-written, we should be getting the clearest look possible inside the writer’s head. Plus, it’s fun just to escape into someone else’s world sometimes. A lot of the time. Q: Where did you grow up in La Jolla? Any favorite hang outs or memories?
MC: I grew up just above the boundary between La Jolla and Pacific Beach off Soledad Road. There was an empty lot above my house, that, although it was probably a half a mile from Kate Sessions Park below, was part of the parkland and can never be developed. Between it and the park is open land full of scrub brush. I used to play there as a kid, inventing characters and life-and-death scenarios.
Later in life, my buddies and I would go there to, ah, recreate, and look at the view of San Diego at night. I still go there to walk my dog sometimes. Q: What is it about your newest book that you think may most surprise readers?
MC: Hopefully, the ending.
www.mattcoylebooks.com