Meet Matt Harry

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Harry. 

Hi Matt, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always wanted to escape reality. Growing up in the suburban mall sprawl of northeastern Ohio, I loved anything that offered an alternative to my “boring” teenage existence. Movies, video games, and television helped, but my own imagination proved to be best at whisking me away. I started writing short stories and plays, but job responsibilities and wanting to be “respected” kept me from embracing fun adventure stories for years. But when I finally published my first novel, SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS in 2017, I realized that other people wanted to escape just as much as I did. 

Now, everything I work on, whether it’s about kids tracking down cryptids, a super-powered baby, or a romantic comedy in which the audience chooses the ending, tends to involve some form of escapism. In the last five years, I’ve created short films (SUPER KIDS), immersive plays (SOMEBODY TO LOVE), and five published works of fiction. My latest novel, YOU ARE A FILMMAKER, is a choose-your-own-career story with over 100 different endings. It’s escapism, Hollywood-style! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
If you’re going to be a creative person, you’ve got to get comfortable with rejection. I’ve been rejected thousands of times in hundreds of different ways. I’ve been ghosted, bluntly turned down, told that my work sucks, informed I was good but not good enough, and just plain ignored. But by far, the biggest struggle has been convincing myself to keep going. To continue putting my work out into the world. Sometimes it feels like no one will care or that no one will want to check out what I’ve done. But I have to remind myself that if I’m interested in it, then hopefully, someone else will be, too. I won’t lie, though — every day is a new fight. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a writer at heart. I started off as a teenage journalist, writing movie reviews and doing interviews for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. I even got to meet Tom Hanks when I was 16. In college, I discovered filmmaking and spent the next ten years writing scripts that didn’t get made into movies. So, I took an idea I had for a movie and turned it into a novel called SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS. When that was published, I finally got some traction as a writer of fun adventure stories. I was even hired to adapt my book as a TV show (which didn’t get made, of course). 

I’m most proud when a reader tells me one of my books is their favorite. One such person lives ten thousand miles away in Norway! It’s crazy to realize that an idea which came out of my brain can travel halfway around the world and become someone’s favorite. I’m humbled and flattered. 

What sets me apart from other writers is that everything I work on has some element of interactivity. My novels have spells for readers to try or choices that can lead to different endings. A romantic comedy play I created lets the audience decide who the main character ends up with. And my latest project has a secret code on the cover that readers can solve. 

What does success mean to you?
For me, success is being able to do what you want creatively, as often as you like. I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to be able to do this for the most part. I have day job responsibilities and family obligations, of course, but I’m still able to find creative work time five or six days a week. Sure, more money or greater audience impact would be nice, but I told myself from a young age that if I’m able to work on what I like, then everything else is gravy. 

Contact Info:

• Website: mattharrywork.com
• Instagram: @matt_harry_mh
• Facebook: @mattharrywriter
• Twitter: @mattharrymh
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTNhiqWo6co&t=15s
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Filmmaker-Interactive-Novel/dp/173650262X

Image Credits
Amber Stephens Harry
Jessica Maison Judd
Juliane Crump