Brick cave continues celebrating the release of The Strange Account of Charlie Wendigo, Matthew Kline sits with us to talk about the book, it's inspiration and some adjacent topics.
This interview is part 2 of 2 parts. You can read Part 1 here.
Q. Sinister Men in Black (not the ones from the movie)- you lean into this a bit as a part of the gag, talk about how as a writer, you bring these really, not really tie ins into the book.
The Men in Black most readers are probably familiar with are the Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones ones. That movie was (very) loosely based on a comic book published by a company named Aircel in the early 90’s. The Men in Black featured in my story are based on the originals, a staple of UFO folklore going all the way back to the 1940’s. Strange and sinister individuals dressed in matching black suits would show up after someone reported seeing a UFO and they would basically threaten and intimidate that someone into keeping their mouths shut. Most believed they were government agents. Some believed they were something else. I took that thought and ran with it. They were really Men in Black but not really the ones you were thinking of.
Q. there is a bit of a "whovian" feel to the dialogue in the book, not unlike some of the newer iterations of Dr Who. Intentional? Are you a fan?
I’ve been wanting to write about a supernatural James Bond type character for some time. That’s what I thought I had with Wendigo, but after a few chapters in I started viewing him as a supernatural Dr. Who, so whovian stuff may have snuck in there. Tom Baker was my favorite for years but he’s since been surpassed in my eyes by David Tennant, so much so that I started to lose interest in the show once his run was done. Nothing radical there. In the Who-verse that might make me more of a poser than a fan.
Q. You ingest a healthy amount of healthy sarcastic interpretation of corporate life and infrastructure in the novel to hilarious effect. Feels like maybe you have some personal experience there? If that's true, talk about how as a writer that experience makes its way into your work.
I worked briefly at a large company where 50% of the work week was devoted to meetings. During those meetings it seemed there were contests to see who could cram as many corporate buzzwords and phrases into their speaking time as possible. I’m not a ‘sit around and talk about doing things’ person. I’d rather be using that time to actually do things. It’s that restlessness and frustration that drives Harry out of the meeting room and into his adventure with Wendigo. My short time at that large company may feature prominently in a future story.
Q. OK, let's talk about your side gig, writing for Creation’s Edge Games. Is that your studio and share a little about your work there.
Creation’s Edge Games was started by four friends waaaay back in 2001. As it often happens, life got in the way of our creative endeavors. Interest waned. I still saw it as an outlet for my writing, so I continued with it, admittedly sporadically. Through the years I’ve created a couple of card and dice games as well as over 100 titles for tabletop role playing games. I’ve sold over 15,000 copies and garnered some pretty good reviews, so I stuck with it.
Q. Are there more stories to tell?
Yes. Hopefully. Provided there’s a proven audience for them. At least two more Wendigo books, I think. One set at the aforementioned large corporation, which shall remain nameless. Well, mostly nameless.
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