Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick is back with another in-depth, evergreen podcast episode conversation on making stuff (mostly writing), finding success as we each define it, and staying healthy and sane in the process.
This time around, I speak with multi-genre pulp author R. Jean Mathieu.
He provides a fascinating perspective on the creative writing life, owing to his intersecting influences of Taoist philosophy, karate, and his Quaker beliefs. We talk about the difference between writing and publishing, especially as they pertain to difficult topics and “trigger” issues, the hidden rituals in our creative process, the importance of balance in all aspects of our lives, personal, professional, and creative (even as we strive to grow and challenge ourselves) and the “hat trick” that keeps it all moving forward…
The conversation with R. Jean Mathieu was recorded on May 29th, 2023. The rest of this episode was recorded on September 26, 2023.
About R. Jean Mathieu
R. Jean Mathieu is the fiction writer of all trades. From award-winning stories of the Peace Corps and meditators on Mars to time-traveling mysteries of a Mexican detective solving his own murder, Mathieu revels in different genres, different voices, and cultural chop suey. Under other noms de plume, he writes romances, thrillers, pulp adventures, Westerns, and mysteries.
Mathieu grew up in Morro Bay, California. He enrolled in college at fifteen, where he would spend the next ten years. With an Associate’s degree in International Studies and $100 in his pocket, Mathieu traveled to China, alternately working as a teahouse server, organic farmhand, Hong Kong movie extra, and English teacher. Despite being deported thrice, he won his degree in Sociology (minoring in Business) over his five years in China, refining his craft along the way.
He lives in San Luis Obispo with his wife Melissa and daughter Lyra, where they keep a good table when not writing side-by-side or chasing trains to the next adventure. A convinced Quaker, he attends Central Coast Friends Meeting in between writing and publishing his fiction, learning new languages, and practicing Uechi-ryu karate. You can find all his stories at Amazon.com and his commentary at RJeanMathieu.com.
Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode
- My day job? I’m a creative services provider helping authors, podcasters and other creators. How can I help you?
- Who are the Quakers?
- The Blade Runner soundtrack.
- Renaissance humanism.
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and his classic Flow make another appearance in a Sonitotum interview, just in case that’s on your bingo card…
- The Big Chill.
- Fear of Flying by Erica Jong.
- How to Meditate: A Guide to Self Discovery by Lawrence LeShan.
- Writing the Other by Cynthia Ward and Nisi Shawl.
- The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.
- My novel Light of the Outsider.
- The “fridging” literary trope.
- David Simon’s famous (to me?) Believer interview. Another frequent mention, for those playing at home.
- Lester Dent‘s Doc Savage.
- The “Mary Sue” literary trope.
- Taoist philosophy.
- Jack London’s No Mentor but Myself.
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