Who is this Matt Johnston fella, you ask? Well, there really isn't that much to tell. The question you should be asking is, how do I purchase his amazing books? (See 'My Writing' via the menu) but as you are already here... 

 

 I was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, and then moved to London like everyone else. After 15 years in London, I achieved escape velocity, and now I live with my wife and two dogs (Bassett hound and greyhound) in Northamptonshire. I love cycling, painting and walking, but my real passions are travelling and writing. I dream of funding the former through a professional career as the latter, and like all aspiring authors, I remain hopeful of an agent and publishing deal. But time waits for no man, so I will continue to self-publish my writing when I can scrape together the money for copy editing and proofreading. As such, writing as a self-funding hobby is a more realistic expectation.

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 My writing combines elements of science fiction, mythology, fantasy, psychology (in which I have a degree - though I was a poor student), and psychedelia. The only rules I seek to apply to my writing are to try to avoid as many cliches as possible and to produce something that is my own creation. 

 

My own tastes in literature are wide but lean towards non-fiction, particularly history. However, in recognition of their influence on my writing, I would like to doth a cap to Lewis Carroll, Douglas Adams, Patrick Hamilton, Philip K. Dick, William Burroughs, Carlos Castaneda, Charles Bukowski, Frank Herbert, Kurt Vonnegut, Ferenc Karinthy, Mario Vargas Llosa and Joseph Conrad. 

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 I have now (finally) managed to finish and publish the first book of what I hope to be my magnum opus - a four-novel steampunk series called Borealis - which I have been writing since 2014. The second part is also complete, and I hope to improve Jeff Bezos's fortune by a few more pennies when I publish it on the KDP in a month or so.

 

Hey! Don't knock old Jeff – without him, many writers such as myself would never get published. Thanks, Jeff. Now don't fuck up Warhammer 40K like you did with Lord of the Rings.

 

My first (published) novel, Dislocate, was written over the summer of 2015. It follows the trials of a deeply troubled young woman, Francis Kelly, who can manipulate time through her breathing.  

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My second novel, Beneath Liquid Skin, was written in 2016. It is a reality and mind-bending tale, which was really fun to write (think Alice in Wonderland - but Alice is a drug addict on a stag night). My philosophy was to try and open the top of my head and see what flew out... In this respect, I think I have succeeded. 

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My Graphic Novel - The Beard, was written and drawn while living with my good friend and muse, Matthew Poole, in Brixton and for a year living in Tooting, South London (2008, I think). It was meant to only be a three-page comic (a joke at Matt's expense), but the concept kept growing and it is now over 70 pages long. It is a nod to the Marvel/DC superheroes, though much more silly.

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I published my third novel - Big Sister - in early 2019. This novel combines fantasy and mythology while set in the genre of a modern western, drawing from the writings of Carlos Castaneda and the films of Sergio Leone. It is a revenge story of a young woman lured to Hollywood with false promises of stardom, but it draws elements of native American folklore.

 

Now, in 2024, here is Borealis! – and I am very proud of it.