Local Author Publishes New Children's Novel

By Jennifer Ersalesi

Matt Payne and his youngest daughter Stella at an Author Visit at Washington School

Local author, Matt Payne, has been an author for eighteen years. His latest book is a paranormal horror novel titled Pumpkin Apocalypse, which follows a middle schooler who hates Halloween, but somehow must confront unfortunate and frightening incidents involving pumpkins. This is Rutherford interviewed Matt Payne to learn more about him as an author, a dad, a proud Rutherford resident and to find out about his new novel.

TIR: How many years have you lived in Rutherford?  What do you love about living here?

Matt Payne: I've lived in Rutherford for 11 years. Which is wild to think about! I love the community we've found here. My wife and I were drawn here by close friends, but since then we've made close friends of our own. It's been amazing watching our kids grow up along with all the other kids here. We currently live on a block with four of my youngest daughter's best friends. They just play all day long, it's a dream.

TIR: How long have you been an author?

MP: I've been an author since 2008. I fell into children's books after freelancing for Scholastic, writing copy for Goosebumps' ENTER HORRORLAND website, and fun back-of-book features for Goosebumps re-releases. The person I freelanced for, Francesco Sedita, went on to head up Grosset & Dunlap (now Penguin Workshop) and he asked me if I ever thought of writing my own book. I was like, "Um, YEAH." Thus, the six-part Monster Juice series was born.

TIR: Tell us about your new book, Pumpkin Apocalypse.

MP: The book is about a prize pumpkin that gets so big that it wants to take over the world! It does so by turning the pumpkins everyone brings home from the farm into mind control beacons. Folks just lose their minds (literally) to the big pumpkin, which grows bigger and bigger off the brainwaves, and leaves the townsfolk zombies. A few kids are able to break the spell and battle the big pumpkin to save all their family and friends...and the world!

TIR: What inspired you to write this new book?

MP: So, I had this funny thought one day: what if the pumpkins we all so willingly put on our porches, and even bring into our houses, were....EVIL!?! It also just seems so silly, the idea of being afraid of pumpkins—not jack-o-lanterns, but just a gourd, sitting there, doing nothing! So I knew it would be a lot of fun.

TIR: On Sunday, July 26th at 11 am there will be a special Book Launch event including a reading and signing of your new book at The Curious Reader in Glen Rock, NJ.  What are you most looking forward to at this event?

MP: Writing is such a solitary exercise: hours and hours alone. It will be great to finally celebrate the book with a bunch of readers, to finally connect the book with its audience, and see their reaction in real time. "Will they like it? What parts will they like the most?" 

TIR: What is your writing process like?

MP: I love writing in my attic. It feels like a separate space from the rest of the house. It's just all about finding the time. I rarely have writer's block when I schedule 3-4 hours in the attic. It becomes a cherished time where I can finally get all the ideas that I've piled up in my head out. The key is to just keep writing, even if you're not quite sure it's right, and edit as necessary later. Any time I give writing workshops, that's my #1 tip. You gotta learn how to stick your writer's hat on, just roll with whatever's coming out of your fingers, but then put on your editor's hat... 

TIR: You have two children of your own.  Do you test out any of your writing on them?  

MP: My 9th Grader is fully disinterested in my writing at this point (even though I wrote her into this book as the main character!), since I write for a younger age group (8-12-year-olds). My 3rd Grader is just getting to the point where she might be able to read this book, so the timing is perfect. I'm stoked to see what she thinks about it.

TIR: What is your favorite part about being an author?

MP: I just love the creative aspect of it—creating an entire world, characters, and story from scratch. I always thought my creative outlet would be acting or drumming, but I somehow landed on this. And I'm not mad!

TIR: Are you working on any other books and/or book ideas?

MP: I have a few ideas percolating, but nothing fully formed enough to share...yet! I will say, I'm thinking of moving away from horror and into historical fiction. Though I'm sure I'll figure out a way to combine both at some point! Historical Horror...hmmm....[grabs pen and paper and begins to scribble]...