r/books • u/bymattruff AMA Author • Mar 27 '20
ama 12pm I'm Matt Ruff, author of FOOL ON THE HILL, LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, and 88 NAMES. AMA!
I'm Matt Ruff, the author of seven novels, including Fool on the Hill, Bad Monkeys, and Set This House in Order. My novel Lovecraft Country is being produced as an HBO series by Jordan Peele, Misha Green, and J.J. Abrams. My new novel, 88 Names, tells the story of John Chu, an online guide to virtual reality gaming who suspects his latest client may be North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. You can read more about 88 Names and my other novels on my website: http://www.bymattruff.com
Proof of identity: https://twitter.com/bymattruff/status/1234541524022513664
I'm happy to answer questions about my books, my writing process, or whatever else comes to mind. Ask me anything!
ETA 7:30 Pacific Time: It's getting dark here on the West Coast, so I'm going to log off for the day, but I'll check back over the weekend and try to answer any late-arriving questions. Thanks to everyone who participated, this was fun!
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u/JacobLane93 Mar 27 '20
Hey Matt,
I love your books! I first read Lovecraft Country which was great and then worked back to your other books. Are there any new or old books/authors that you've enjoyed or have helped your writing process?
Thanks!
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u/CryingLot42 Mar 27 '20
Hi Matt,
I'm also a big fan of your books since I read "Fool on the hill" back in the 90s (as I am from Austria I read it in the German translation first).
I was wondering if your wife Lisa Gold helps you with your research for your books (I think she has and does a great job)?
I'd also like to know if there were ever any plans of doing a movie of one of your books and if yes which one and why it never got realized (although I'm not sure how good a project like this would turn out, but I'm sure I would watch it)? Or, if you ever thought about, which director you would like to have to make it happen.
Thank you!
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u/MonkeyDavid Mar 27 '20
Huge fan. I started with Bad Monkeys when it first came out.
Two related questions: how involved are you in the Lovecraft Country TV show, and are you writing a sequel to the book?
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u/Thyfoe660 Mar 27 '20
Hi Matt, you‘re my favourite author of all time!
Most authors have some things that they are good at and they mostly stick to it. But all of your books are so different in style, theme, lenght... Why is that? Isn‘t that kind of risky?
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u/jasonbourne95 Mar 27 '20
Hey matt! Loved Lovecraft country, it was an amazing read. Going to read all your books now!
Anyways , coming to the question,
What constitutes a productive day for you ?
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u/jhcarrollfov Mar 27 '20
Hi Matt - I graduated from Cornell in ’84, and never had heard of you until ten years later when my roommate at the time tossed a copy of Fool on the Hill at me and said “You went to Cornell right? Bet you will like this…”. I absolutely loved it and have since re-read it a couple times. Have also read Set This House, Bad Monkeys, and LoveCraft Country. I was on your Wikipedia page and read about some unpublished works written before Fool on the Hill. Do you have any plans to release these?
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u/Sobeilo Mar 27 '20
Regarding 'Lovecraft Country', were you inspired by specific works written by Lovecraft or would you say the novel is more generally inspired by him? Additionally, what was your incentive for writing the book?
Thanks
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u/tangnapalm Mar 27 '20
No question, but I loved Fool on The Hill and Sewer Gas, Electric! Very excited for your new series! Thanks for sharing your imagination!
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u/colorcorrection Mar 27 '20
Separating the author from his work, how much interest do you, or did you, have of Lovecraft's work going into Lovecraft Country? Or was Lovecraft Country purely meant as a more objective commentary on his work/life?