Note: Subterranean Press posted this interview on their website on March 6, 2016, to promote the release of Freedom of the Mask. The interview is no longer available on their website, so it’s presented here.
Gwenda Bond: Let’s talk about the Matthew Corbett books in general, as you come up on the milestone of this sixth book. Where did this series initially spring from? Did you realize at the time how much potential these characters had in them and how long you’d be with them?
Robert McCammon: I wanted to write something that was very different from the horror novels I’d been doing up to that point. I’ve always been interested in history and I’d just been to Colonial Williamburg before I started thinking about doing SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD, but I’m sure that trip spurred me on to give the historical novel a try. I also wanted to include a witchcraft trial at the center of the book, but I wanted it to be rooted in reality. And no, I didn’t realize at that point that the Matthew Corbett character would go on, but I’m very glad I left the ending of NIGHTBIRD “open” so he could return! After I finished NIGHTBIRD I found myself missing Matthew and wondering what was going to happen to him when he got back to New York.
GB: Switching gears to FREEDOM OF THE MASK, this story finds all our heroes—Matthew, Hudson, and Berry—in a more dangerous position than ever and eventually on British shores. Without spoiling too much, let’s give people a glimpse of what to expect. How did the idea for this latest adventure come together? Did it surprise you?
RM: It actually came together from a friend of mine mentioning something about “freedom of the mask” in a conversation we were having, and now I have no recollection of what we were talking about but I said at the time that I thought “freedom of the mask” would be a good title for a Matthew book. So I had the title but I had to build the story and of course work it into the total arc of where Matthew had been and where he is going. If I thought too much about this I might get a little intimidated, so I’ve learned just to let the plot ideas flow freely.
GB: Getting such a note-perfect glimpse of 1700s America is one of the highlights of the series, and this new volume stays in fine form despite the move in scenery. Did you have to do a lot of research on England in this period or was it already something you were a buff about? Any surprising tidbits from your research?
RM: I had already done a lot of research on London and was saving it up for this book. Also I’ve had the idea of the hidden village in Wales for a long time. Nothing really surprised me about my research except to realize how really crazed, blood-thirsty and wicked that city was during the time period I’m writing about…what there was of the law had its hands full and mostly stayed out of the way. Oh, and I couldn’t really describe the full reality of Newgate Prison because no modern reader would believe it…the prisoners had a bar in there and had their liquor brought in…at the same time prisoners were killing each other over pairs of shoes and the guards were being paid by the inmates…it was crazy!
GB: You’ve written a long, stellar novella starring Hudson Greathouse to go along with the limited edition of this one, “The House at the Edge of the World.” Is he one of your favorite characters to write? Want to offer readers a little insight into this novella?
RM: The fun thing about creating this world that I’ve done is that now I can use Matthew, Hudson, Minx Cutter, or even Mrs. Herrald in these extra novellas. I could go back in time to the beginnings of the Herrald Agency. I can be entirely straightforward or write something that takes a supernatural or “strange” turn. I am unfettered as to what I can write about and who will be the main character, which I really like. As to Hudson, you get a sense of his very violent history in this novella and some of his “warrior-like” character. The title is sort of a play on words because not only is there really a house at the “edge of the world” but “the house” as in Greathouse is also at what is considered at that time to be the edge of the world. Again, it’s fun to do these and I’m dropping all sorts of hints in the novels as to what the next novella might be. Actually, the entire Matthew series is sort of a homage to the detective novel, as in each book I plant the names of several fictional detectives somewhere in there.
GB: You’ve been quite busy lately, with a host of new work, not to mention things like our upcoming 25th anniversary edition of BOY’S LIFE revisiting old favorites. Any hint for your fans about what’s next?
RM: I’m looking forward to the 25th Anniversary publication of BOY’S LIFE. The art in it is nothing short of fantastic! Well, next up is a novel set in 1934 in New Orleans titled THE LISTENER, which will be very different from anything I’ve done before but still have a “weird” bent. I’ll be doing the third in the I TRAVEL BY NIGHT series, titled THE BLOODY BADLANDS, and then I’ll get to the next Matthew, called CARDINAL BLACK. I’m looking forward very much to reading these works myself!
GB: I know I speak for everyone at Sub Press when I say: So are we! Thanks so much for talking with me.