For readers who are just discovering you, who is Matthew Arnold Stern in your own words?
[MAS] I consider myself an occupational fiction author because work plays a role in every novel I’ve written. Work is a relatable subject. We all do it in some way. Much of it may be mundane, but it poses challenges, personal conflicts, stress, and the occasional heart-pounding risk. And all forms of work offer us a sense of satisfaction when the job is done. By writing about work, I can show readers they don’t have to look for courage and self-worth by escaping to some magical land or through superheroes with unlimited powers. They can find it in the world we live in and the things we do daily.
You’ve spent over 40 years as a public speaker and writer—how have those experiences shaped the stories you choose to tell?
[MAS] I include my personal experiences in every story I write. Amiga was inspired by my experiences starting out in the computer industry in the 1980s. I worked for a small family-owned startup that was creating software for the Commodore 64. Amiga recaptures those early days when personal computing was new, technology was magical, and the industry could have gone in different directions. The Commodore Amiga was one of those “what if” computers that was way ahead of its time and a potential that was lost.
Growing up in Reseda and living in Southern California your whole life, how has your environment influenced your work?
[MAS] Reseda is a fixture in most of my novels (as if that suburb didn’t have enough songs and movies about it) because it was where I spent my formative years and decided to become a writer. My teenage years played a significant role in Christina’s Portrait because it was based on a horrible murder that happened at my high school 50 years ago. The novel also gave me the chance to explore many other issues and experiences that happened growing up in the 1970s.
Our upbringing affects everything we write. I recently read Don’t Leave Me Behind by Bailey Johnson, and that book was shaped by her rural, small-town life. Regardless of where and how we grew up, those personal experiences shape our writing and enable us to connect with our readers. It’s what separates human-created work from AI.
📖 About Your Books
Your novels—Amiga, The Remainders, and Christina’s Portrait—all explore characters facing past trauma. What draws you to these stories of healing and resilience?
[MAS] Part of it comes from my own experience of facing hardships and growing from them, such as when my mom suffered a stroke just after I graduated from high school. But I also believe that’s what readers want. They enjoy seeing characters overcome horrific challenges and prevail. Those stories give readers reassurance they can overcome their own challenges and offer them the inspiration to do the same. At difficult times like these, such stories are especially important.
How do you approach balancing sensitive, emotional subject matter with the flow of a compelling narrative?
[MAS] Everything you put into a story must contribute to the development of the plot and characters. Otherwise, it’s just for shock value or virtue signaling.
In The Remainders, homelessness and abuse are core to what happens to Dylan and his father Oliver in the story. Those experiences shape their characters and lead them to what they experience. The novel isn’t merely about those issues, but what happens to the characters as a result of them. When readers are focused on the characters, sensitive subjects become part of the emotional journey.
Are there particular moments in your novels that you hope will resonate most deeply with readers?
[MAS] Without giving anything away, there are characters in my novels who do something so unexpectedly awful, they even shocked me. If you’re writing from your heart, the scenes and characters that moved you emotionally will move readers.
🌟 Themes of Trauma & Healing
How do you explore the idea that facing the past is essential to moving forward?
[MAS] Everything we do in the past shapes the decisions we make in the present. While I use elements like dual timelines and flashbacks to explain what happened, I focus on how those past experiences affect the characters in the present.
That’s what happens to Laura in Amiga. Discovering her old Commodore Amiga rekindles memories she wants to forget. An old flame reenters her life. Even the time she was robbed working as a bank teller affects her relationship with her husband. Laura comes to terms with everything that happened to her. She even finds someone from her past who can help with her current problems. And by reconciling with her history, she can move ahead in the present.
How do your characters’ struggles with trauma influence the way they connect with others in your stories?
[MAS] All of us struggle with our pasts. We all have wounds we suffered and pains we’ve caused others. We can’t change what happened, but we can decide what we can do in the present. That’s why I write the stories I do.
What role does hope, redemption, or personal growth play in your novels?
[MAS] If people want misery, they can watch the news. I don’t want to contribute to the enshittification of society. If we as writers aren’t offering readers hope, redemption, and the potential of growth, they might as well doomscroll on social media.
🖋️ Writing Process & Inspiration
What does your writing routine look like while balancing personal life and storytelling?
[MAS] Everything I learned about balancing my personal and writing lives came from a time management class I took as I was starting college. It showed me how to block out time so I can fit in all of my responsibilities and still have time for rest and relaxation. If I hadn’t taken that class, I wouldn’t have made it through college when I had to fit in classes and studying while taking care of my mom and working nearly 30 hours a week.
I use the same skills today to fit in writing time along with a full time job and home and family responsibilities. It means giving up some things, like binge-watching TV or spending more time than necessary on social media. You make time for the things that are important to you.
Do your stories emerge more from plotting, character-driven exploration, or a mix of both?
[MAS] I switched to character-driven fiction ten years ago, and my writing is so much better for it. I start with an idea about a plot or a theme I want to explore. Once I decide which characters fit the story, I wind them up and watch them go. My characters take the story in directions I don’t expect. Bit players wind up becoming important. I’m uncovering this story along with the characters. This makes the writing flow organically from the characters’ actions, instead of trying to force characters to fit certain plot points. It’s a lot of fun to create this way.
How does your interest in technology and community influence your approach to storytelling?
[MAS] These are topics I’m working on in my work in progress, Escape from Arzack’s Castle. We see how technology contributes to the isolation my characters face in the office. When they are lured into a real-life recreation of a classic video game, they must battle AI-driven robotic monsters. To survive, they must learn to trust people they’ve only known through email and online chats.
Technology also aids in building community. Julie, my main character, has deep knowledge about the game they’re forced to play because her parents worked on the classic video game it’s based on. One of the things she knows is this game was designed to be cooperative. She uses this knowledge to get her coworkers to work together to defeat the monsters and the evil billionaire CEO who devised this trap. In the process, Julie and her coworkers turned distant work relationships into lasting communal bonds.
📚 Reader Connection & Community
You’ve mentioned valuing community as an indie author—how does that shape the way you interact with readers and other writers?
[MAS] A great example is a local author fair in Fullerton, California last year. I found out about this event through some authors at another event. I sold some books, but more importantly, I made connections with more authors. One was 16, and she already published two books!
I’ve also gotten great ideas for stories by listening to readers. I was talking with someone at the Commodore LA Super Show, a gathering of enthusiasts of vintage Commodore computers where I was a speaker. He suggested I write another book about the Commodore Amiga. I started writing Escape from Arzack’s Castle based on his input.
We wouldn’t be authors without other authors who can open doors for us and readers to buy and review our books. Community is essential to us as indie authors.
How has feedback from readers shaped your current projects or perspective as a storyteller?
[MAS] Another example of how reader feedback shaped my books is The Remainders. When I wrote the first draft, I only told the story from Dylan’s point of view. The beta reader said the book felt incomplete. That was when I realized that I should tell his father’s story as well.
By weaving together the two narratives, readers can see how the characters misunderstood each other and how much they actually had in common. I was able to use one story to build dramatic tension in the other. The dual POV approach worked so well in The Remainders, I also used it in Amiga and Christina’s Portrait. And it all came from a beta reader’s feedback.
What do you hope readers take away from your books beyond the story itself?
[MAS] I believe books are tools for teaching empathy. More than movies and TV, books enable readers to fully experience the world from another person’s point of view. They can feel what it’s like to live in their bodies and move in their environments. When they see the world from the perspective of someone different from them, they can tear down their prejudices and open themselves to others. We are in desperate need of empathy these days, which is why books are important.
🔮 Looking Ahead
Are there themes or stories you’re excited to explore next, perhaps building on your focus on healing, technology, or community?
[MAS] I want to write more science fiction because that is where those themes of healing, technology, and community can come together. I’d like my stories to offer optimistic visions of the future. We don’t need any more dystopian novels because we’re currently living in the plot of every dystopia imagined over the last 100 years. Instead, I want to offer a future people can hope for and work to make real.
How do you see your storytelling evolving in the years to come?
[MAS] Every novel I write, I learn something new and find ways to improve my craft. I plan to continue to do the same. I also want to mentor and uplift other younger writers. When you get to be my age, you feel a greater responsibility to leave the world better than when you came. I want to help the next generations of writers refine their craft and accomplish more than my generation did.
🖤 Just for Fun
Outside of writing, what brings you joy or fuels your creativity?
[MAS] I’m a big sports fan, especially baseball. (Go Dodgers!) I find ways to incorporate my love of sports in my stories. In Escape from Arzack’s Castle, Julie was a softball player through high school. She uses skills she learned in battling the monsters.
What brings me the most joy is my family. It’s been amazing watching our kids grow up and have children of their own. And I appreciate the times we can all gather together.
If your novels were adapted into films, what kind of tone or style would you hope to see?
[MAS] My attitude about film adaptations is to trust the director and the rest of the team working on the movie. I have friends in the TV/film industry, so I have great respect for the work they do. It’s also difficult to convert a 300-page novel to a 120-page script. There’s also the challenge of taking a story that depends on all of the senses and uses internal dialogue and telling it using only images and sound. If I’m fortunate enough to have one of my novels adapted into a film, I’d answer questions if asked, but I’d step back and let the professionals do their work. Then, I’d look forward to the premiere!
Which of your characters do you feel closest to—and why?
[MAS] Oliver in The Remainders. I wrote him in the middle of a family crisis in 2016, and he reflects all the insecurities and doubts I had as a father during that time. What I like about Oliver is in spite of everything he went through, he’s still a good person who’s doing the best he can. That’s the most the world can expect from any of us.
💬 Final Thoughts
When readers close the last page of one of your novels, what feeling or takeaway do you hope lingers with them the longest?
[MAS] Goodness is possible. I still believe that we can create a world where courage defeats cruelty, right actions lead to right results, justice prevails, compassion and honesty still matter, and love overcomes hate. I want my readers to believe it too.
