Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of over five novels and has been published in multiple languages. Wise Wolf Books is excited to be the home of his very first Young Adult novel, Runaway Train and it’s sequel. Runaway Train is set to release in 2021. We got a chance to talk with Lee Matthew Goldberg about who he is and why he decided to switch gears to YA.
“Sometimes we stand at a precipice, the choice to go one way or another. This is your moment.”
Wise Wolf Books: If I’m not mistaken, this is your first YA novel, and you also have a sci-fi novel coming up, why the sudden change in genres?
Lee Matthew Goldberg: Yes, this will be my first YA novel. All my books have been classified as thrillers, but I never want to only be a thriller writer. I’m a big reader of YA, sci-fi, and literary fiction so I’d like my career to have many different arms. I have a ton of ideas that wouldn’t fit into the thriller genre so this gives me the opportunity to focus on whatever I feel like writing at the moment, regardless of genres. Some of my books mix genres as well, so it’s up to the reader how they would want to classify them.
WWB: And a follow-up – YA isn’t the easiest genre to break into, so why YA?
LMG: Yeah, YA is definitely tough to break into! The first books I read growing up like Bridge to Terabithia and Bunnicula would be classified as YA, so the genre was always close to my heart. I think young readers can connect to a novel they discover early on that can become a favorite of theirs for life. For me it’s always about the story and in reaching different types of readers. Also, just keeping me interested in writing so I’m challenging myself and not always writing the same books over and over.
WWB: How do your stories and characters come to you?
LMG: Usually an idea pops into my mind and I let it marinate for a while. Once it starts to form, I’ll write a chapter by chapter outline. I usually stick to the outline for the most part but also allow myself to veer off from it if that serves the novel better. The idea for the book tends to come first before the characters, but I have had books that started with the character. Runaway Train actually started with the character Nico first.
WWB: You’ve been noted as saying some of your favorite classic authors are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Emily Bronte, W. Somerset Maugham and Raymond Chandler. How do they influence your writing, if they do at all?
LMG: I love classic novels mostly because they were the first to get me into writing. I read Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights when I was about fourteen and I remember going to sleep and thinking about it and the characters that would bleed into my dreams. The same thing happens when I’m writing a book as well. When I’m working on a project, I stick to a similar type of writer and genre, but I’m always reading and often go back to some of my favorite books like from F. Scott Fitzgerald and Raymond Chandler.
WWB: I saw that you are a cocurator for Guerrilla Lit Reading Series, can you tell us a bit about what that is and how you got involved?
LMG: Sure, Guerrilla Lit is a reading series based in New York City. I started it about twelve years ago with friends from my MFA program at the New School and we’ve been going strong ever since. We have three authors at a time at a speakeasy bar on the Lower East Side called Dixon Place. During COVID-19, we’ve moved online to Zoom but hopefully will be back live when we start our spring season up again in 2021.
Now let’s talk a little about the book – Runaway Train:
WWB: YA is such an important genre because it covers all the issues teenagers today face, Runaway Train deals with a lot of these issues. Is there one topic or issue in particular you hope will stand out most?
LMG: Runaway Train deals with a lot of issues that teenagers face. The main character’s sister dies suddenly and things aren’t good at home so she runs away. She comes from a good family but nobody knows how to deal with the death of a loved one and it pushes her away. I think being so young and dealing with a major loss can be very difficult. A big part of it is having people in your life to help ease the grief so someone doesn’t feel alone. My main character Nico feels alone and alienated and she just wants to scream but isn’t able to express herself. So, the novel really is about learning to express yourself to get through some of the most difficult challenges life may throw your way.
WWB: River Phoenix plays an important role in the novel, were you a big fan?
LMG: Yes, the book begins with River Phoenix dying. Nico was a big fan and I was too. It’s so tragic to see someone die so young. One of my favorite movies as a kid was Stand By Me. River Phoenix is a little older, so I remember looking up to someone like him in an older brother kind of way. The book is about a lot of idols from that era who passed too soon: Kurt Cobain in particular. I completely remember where I was when we learned Kurt Cobain died and how the world felt like it shut down for that day.
WWB: The book focuses largely on music and the 90’s rock grunge scene. Is this an important part of your life or just something you were drawn to write about?
LMG: I was a teenager during the 90s rock grunge scene, so it was the music that I grew up and came of age with. I also felt that I would have an easier time writing about an era from when I was a teenager rather than focusing on today. There’s a nostalgia factor but it’s also a more innocent time before internet and cell phones and social media. When Nico runs away there’s really an ability for her to become lost. And she’s such a fan of grunge music and wants to be a singer as well, so the book is really a love letter to that time. It also gave me an excuse to create a great Spotify playlist based on the songs that begin each chapter.
“I hit rewind and played the song over and over, singing it at the top of my lungs.”
WWB: It’s said that April 5th is the day grunge music died, do you agree?
LMG: Yes and no. Grunge’s popularity definitely declined after Kurt Cobain died, but there are still bands from that era like Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins that are making great music today. And new fans that are finding Nirvana and Soundgarden and Hole and Alice and Chains, so grunge music will always be alive and have a place in the history of music.
WWB: Do you think teens today will be able to understand and relate to Nico since it takes place over 20 years ago?
LMG: Absolutely I think they will. Most of what Nico goes through is what teens deal with today. She’s suffering from the loss of her sister, she’s alienated from her parents, she’s an outcast in school and feels like her closest friends don’t understand her, she’s exploring with pot and alcohol, she has body image issues, and music is what saves her on a daily basis. She has a dream to become a singer but has never sang in public before, so she’s really discovering who she is during the course of the novel. All those things make it still topical today.
WWB: There are so many more questions I could ask, but we’re going to end it with this – what has been your biggest lesson learned from 2020 and what do you hope 2021 brings you?
LMG: Wow, yeah 2020 has been a tough year, but I think we will come out stronger because of it. We’ve seen loss and divisiveness but also hope and heroes who have emerged. I hope we’re in store for a better 2021 and that we learn to be kinder to one another after this year. I’m also very excited for Runaway Train and Grenade Bouquets to be released into the world. That’ll be a great start to 2021 for myself!