Bestselling author Matthew Sullivan will be coming to Moses Lake and Soap Lake this coming Thursday and Friday to talk about his latest book, Midnight in Soap Lake.
He will be talking at these locations:
Thursday, May 15, Moses Lake Public Library, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 16, 6 p.m., Lakeside Bistro, Soap Lake
Midnight in Soap Lake, released less than a month ago, is a decade-spanning mystery full of quirky characters and set in an odd lakeside town that is a fictionalized version of the real Soap Lake.
The New York Times selected the book as one of April’s best new releases, “Not only because of the Pacific Northwest setting, but because of the spookiness that permeates the narrative, thanks to a mineral-filled lake imbued with potentially otherworldly properties and a mythic, creepy figure called ‘TreeTop’ who has terrorized the area for decades.”
A Spokesman Review book review of Midnight in Soap Lake said, in part, “With the infectious charm of the decaying town and it’s quirky characters, Midnight in Soap Lake is like a thrilling mixture of ‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Northern Exposure’ and ‘Big Bang Theory.'”
In anticipation of the upcoming talks in Grant County, Sullivan recently took time out of his busy book tour schedule to talk with NCW Libraries about his book and what we can expect during the programs.
Tell us about your connection to Grant County and Soap Lake
My wife, Libby, and I moved to Grant County in 2003 for a job, teaching at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake. But I was already really familiar with the inland Northwest since I went to grad school at the University of Idaho. We lived in Soap Lake for three years and then moved to Ephrata. We lived in Grant County for 20 years. I taught English at Big Bend – composition, creative writing, literature, film.
Did you visit the public library?
When our kids were little, we visited the libraries in Soap Lake and Ephrata for story times and to stock up on books. We took our kids for all the programs. My wife is a librarian so I definitely have an affinity for libraries, especially ones in small towns. They are a hub for community and culture. As a teacher, I frequently offered extra credit related to library programs, particularly Humanities Washington programs. I attended a lot of HW programs and author events. The libraries were really an important part of our lives, the main place we could go to find good literature and arts and lifelong learning.
Tell us about the inspiration for this book?
Everything comes back to the lake. It is such a fantastic and rare natural resource. The longer I lived there and the more I learned about it, the more fascinated I became. It is so steeped in history – natural history, indigenous history, the culture of healing, the history of veterans coming after World War I. How it went from a bustling resort town to a sleepy little town. It seemed like every day I came across a new story or anecdote about the lake. When I set out to write my next book, I had no plans to write about Soap Lake. But then I got to thinking about the layers of complexity surrounding the lake and it seemed like the perfect starting point for a crime novel.
Is Soap Lake steeped in urban legend?
The boogeyman figure, Tree Top, is completely made up. Nothing like that exists in Soap Lake lore that I know of. Part of the book is told from a child’s point of view. When writing from a child’s perspective, I play around with mythology and ghost stories and tall tales that, from a child’s perspective, seem very real. I wanted to create a boogeyman that exists for adults and for the entire psyche of a town.
What is the genre of Midnight in Soap Lake? Horror, thriller, cozy mystery? It’s definitely a mystery because it begins with a body. The structure is solving a who-done-it. It also has elements of psychological suspense. It takes places in an isolated small town, so it has elements of cozy mystery. The Soap Lake in the book is much more remote than the real Soap Lake. With the boogeyman, I’m certainly playing around with horror genre.
I read somewhere that this is a stand-alone book in the Midnight Cycle. What does that mean?
I’m now working on the third book in the Midnight Cycle. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore was the first one, and Midnight in Soap Lake is the second. Each book is stand alone. But they all share very particular aspects. They all have crimes that happen at midnight. They bounce between past and present. They have shocking events that have ripple effects. All take place in a strong, knowable community. An independent bookstore. A small town. The third book will take place in a school.
The cover art is so unique, can you tell us more about how that came to be?
The primary intention behind a book cover is to designate genre, signaling to the reader that this is a fantasy or sci-fi or mystery. This book is not a traditional mystery. It has elements of horror. It’s psychological. It has science. We tried to capture the more fun and surreal aspects of the story in the cover.
What can people expect from your talk?
With most author talks now you have a conversation partner. So every talk is different. I will likely talk about the background of the book, my goals for writing the book, the mystery genre, Soap Lake. I did a Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau program on the mystery genre and the changing role of the victim, so I will probably talk about that a bit.
What are you looking forward to about coming back here to talk?
It will be interesting to talk in an area where people are familiar with the location. It’s been interesting to hear from students and people who live in Grant County who read the book. We have strong connections to Grant County, so it will be nice to get back to Moses Lake and Soap Lake, in communities that were our home for 16 years.
Are you working on a new book?
Book 3 in the Midnight Cycle is close to the first draft being finished. It is set in Denver, and it’s about a shocking crime and how it impacts the community. The book will likely be released in 2027. I’m on a break from teaching right now. I’ve taught some online classes and was a Humanities Washington speaker for two and a half years. I’ve also been doing some classes for senior citizens and incarcerated writers. But I’ve mainly been writing full time. I will get back into teaching soon.
What are you reading right now? What’s on your TBR pile?
My TBR pile is huge, especially since I’ve been visiting all these book stores for talks. I’m currently reading Trust by Colum McCann, a novel about an Irish journalist writing about people on a repair mission to fix underwater cables. I’m also rereading Sherlock Holmes; I’m part of a Sherlock Holmes group. My TBR pile includes When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory, a sci-fi novel.
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