Origins of an Author
One night in 2007, I had a dream. It wasn't as profound as Dr. Martin Luther King's, but it changed my life. I couldn't stop thinking about it. The dream was a nightmare that haunted me for two weeks. During my waking hours, I thought about a backstory to it. So, I wrote it all down in outline form and slowly began writing Alien Fear. When I finally got to the dream to write it, it ended up being only a chapter and a half in the book. The story didn't stop there, though. I added on to the book by creating a part two.
I originally finished the book in 2012 and began to seek out traditional publishers for it. At first, I had agents asking for more materials and even a few that asked for the complete manuscript. Unfortunately, agents became wary of first time authors in the ever expanding self-publishing landscape. To help combat this and show them I could sell, I put together my first collection of short stories, Shorts, and published it in 2014. I had so much fun putting it together and it was successful (I was making a profit), so I put together my second collection of short stories, Dark Matter. After the success of these first two publications, I decided that I would finally self-publish Alien Fear. This was 2016 and I also had another novel completed at this time and I got to work to publish it. To date, Shorts continues to be my best seller.
I didn't look back after that. Wither a short story or novel, I am constantly working on something (or usually multiple somethings). My latest newsletter has a section on the current state of the things that I am working on. So, check that out if you want to see what is going on.
The Team
The following is a list of editors that I've used in the past:
- Darci Englin - Shorts and Dark Matter. A freelance editor from Arkansas. Retired from editing in 2015.
- Toni Landenberger - Alien Fear, Gun Smuggler's Tale, and Tech Fear. A freelance editor from Kansas. Retired from editing in 2017.
- Crystal Lenz, Crystal Lenz Editing - One story in Twisted. An editor from Kansas. Did not retire, but was too busy and didn't feel like she was a good fit to work on the rest of Twisted.
- Cynthia Shepp, Editing Services by Cynthia Shepp - The rest of Twisted, Flaming Curse, Whispers Within, Death Curse, and Infinite Horizons. An editor from Alabama.
The following is a list of narrators I've used in the past:
- Jeffrey Konrad - Alien Fear. Currently focusing on his primary job as a Physical Therapist.
- DW Draffin - Gun Smuggler's Tale, Tech Fear, Flaming Curse and Whispers Within. Also a writer, and he has narrated numerous books. Check him out here. Currently, he has given up his narration career to become a YouTube star!
- Jodi Ryobal - Death Curse, Desperados of Mars, and Thunderbolt Curse. With DW Draffin being unavailable, I found this first time narrator willing to try her hand. I think she is excellent!
The following is a list of cover artists I've used in the past:
- Jordan Mizell - Alien Fear and Tech Fear. Check out his great stuff here.
All of these people were great to work with and put in a lot of effort in getting my stuff presentable to the public. I am grateful to all of them!
Speaking Engagements and Topics (not including my social activities and work, so just writing)
What People are Saying
Shorts:
- "Good read if you like short stories." - LaToya Livingston
- "Great collection of shorts. Loved the prefaces. Always a twist in each story." - jen
- "I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. The short story is a challenging format for a writer, and Mr. Olson does it very well. I found myself wanting more stories, they were so imaginative." - Jo
Dark Matter:
- "I found a few of them I really liked such Killer on Aisle Five, Death of a Rose, the Killer and the Mistletoe. the others were good but needed something more for me to be able to fee more satisfied as a good story. But short stories are just that-short. I wonder what these few stories could have turned out into something more if even more meat and turned into a larger storyline. Hmmm?" - mcjack
Alien Fear:
- "Altho it isn't my usual type of genre I enjoyed reading Alien Fear. It has some unexpected turns and kept me wanting to read what happens next. With humor and suspense it kept me entertained from cover to cover." - CRooney Amazon Customer
- "Great story involving Alex, his girlfriend Melanie and friend Wally in the soon approaching alien invasion. Exciting scenes of attack and aftermath." - jehree
- "I really enjoyed this book as it was interesting and not impossible to comprehend. The story line was easy to follow and wasn't predictable. I rated it at 4 stars and I look forward to a sequel" - Amazon Customer D.Clough
Gun Smuggler's Tale:
- "Great read! I couldn't wait to see what crazy thing was going to happen to Clarke next!" - mbean54
Tech Fear:
- "I was seriously involved in this story that reflects human nature as it repells faith and favors distrust and anger. Self preservation motivates us all. A good read with a predictable ending. I look forward to additional stories by this author. I rated it at 4 stars for individuality." - Amazon Customer D.Clough
Twisted:
- "I picked this up at a book festival and met the author. I honestly didn't have super high hopes for this but was cautiously optimistic. I was really very pleasantly surprised by how clever and well-written most of these short stories were. I look forward to reading more of his work!" - Jason Walker
Flaming Curse:
- "Great dialogue and story line. Character development is wonderful and very detailed. Great story! Enjoyed it very much!! Thank you!" - jehree
- "Matthew J. Olson has written a clever story with an interesting magical framework. This combination of horror-fantasy, the Wild West, and Kansas history is a worthwhile read." - Jennifer L. Gadd
Desperados of Mars
- I could hardly put it down and liked it very much! - Connie Rooney
General:
- My kid Weslie enjoys reading Matthew J Olson. He has a nice collection of creative stories! - Pickleball Librarian
- Honestly you are a monster - Kevin Ragsdale
