Be Somebody received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Matt Rogers.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Be Somebody, released April 21st 2022.
What’s the book’s first line?
“The baby finds no problem with the intruder.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Twenty-six-year-old Dante Jacoby is a slave to the trappings of the modern world, hopelessly addicted to booze, cigarettes, and procrastination. When a chance incident reveals a hidden genetic gift — namely, one of the fastest reaction speeds on the planet — he finds himself sucked into a web of violence and international espionage, fleeing from forces who wish to capitalise on his unique advantages. But it doesn’t take long to stumble upon a deeper conspiracy and discover that his very existence is not what it seemed…
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I’ve always been fascinated as to why we make the choices we make and how much control we truly have over our lives, and this book is effectively a treatise on these two ideas. My previous work before “Be Somebody” has been heavily action-focused, and although “Be Somebody” is still a fast-paced thriller with plenty of twists and turns, I was eager to blur the lines between action and philosophy — particularly stoicism. After all, thrillers often feature the extreme ends of the human experience, and I wanted to delve deep into how “larger-than-life” characters actually handle these harrowing situations. By having an atypical protagonist for the genre, Dante Jacoby, who has absolutely nothing going for him at the beginning of the novel, I was able to explore these themes the way I envisioned when the story idea first popped into my head.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
My goal with “Be Somebody” was to explore the power of the mind in an entertaining and accessible way, touching on lessons we can all apply to our lives. Whether you’re looking for a rip-roaring plot with staggering twists in the latter half, or a deeper analysis of how much control we truly have over our choices and our fate, it’s all there. I think there’s something for everyone in this story.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
What’s unique about Dante Jacoby is that by the end of the novel, he’s barely recognisable from the man you’re introduced to in the opening chapters. Without divulging too many spoilers, he undergoes a metamorphosis halfway through the novel that completely transforms his mind, body and soul. Underneath it all, he still has the same distinctive personality traits, but over the course of a two-hundred-day solitary “training camp,” he makes subtle behavioural shifts that force him to grow in every way possible. I can’t put my finger on who specifically he reminds me of due to his unique character development, but I’d say there’s a little bit of us all in Dante, as I dive deep into what makes us humans truly tick.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I’ve been reading since I was four years old and writing fiction since I was six, when my dad brought home a chunky old Dell laptop from work he managed to snatch up for $20 before they threw it out. I first wrote down that I wanted to be an author around the age of ten, and was fortunate enough to successfully pursue a self-publishing career at eighteen.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
“Be Somebody” is my 30th novel that I’ve self-published.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I’ve been writing and self-publishing thrillers full-time for going on six years now. Before that, I was studying Law at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I write roughly 1,500-2,000 words per day when working on a novel. I treat it like my full-time job, as I don’t want to take the opportunity for granted.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part of being an indie is the control I have over my work. I own the rights to all my books, and it’s completely up to me how I shape my career and my body of work. However, it’s a double-edged sword, as this is also the hardest part of being an indie. Self-accountability is crucial as everything is on you: the marketing, the output, etc. It’s up to you to create a schedule you can stick to, which often takes some serious experimentation as to how you work best without any oversight. There’s no one there telling you what to do, how much to write, or how seriously to take your job. You determine this yourself.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Read “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. It gave me a phenomenal framework to approach my writing and career.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Probably not, unless it was a next-level deal. The profit splits as a self-published author are far superior to those of traditional publishing — it’s just hard to get noticed doing it on your own, which is obviously what a traditional publisher can help with. However, I’ve managed to establish a brand in Amazon’s thriller space while staying solo, so I don’t see much need for a traditional deal unless it was something crazy like exposing me to a James Patterson/Lee Child/David Baldacci-sized audience.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Continuous improvement is what drives and motivates me (if you read “Be Somebody,” you’ll get a look inside my brain and probably understand why.) I firmly believe that if you focus on improving and getting better from book to book, or even from chapter to chapter, the results will take care of themselves. I don’t concern myself with sales or rankings, as that will handle itself if I stay consistent with my writing and focus on getting better as a storyteller. I’ve now sold over a million copies so this approach seems to work, considering that being a bestseller has never been my priority.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Nic Pizzolatto, probably best known for writing “True Detective” on HBO. His fiction novel “Galveston” and his short story collection “Between Here and the Yellow Sea” are masterpieces. His prose is just stunning. Don Winslow, author of “The Cartel” trilogy, is also a master of the craft. His books on the impact of the war on drugs on Mexico are visceral and haunting. I take endless inspiration from both Winslow and Pizzolatto.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
“Galveston” by Nic Pizzolatto.