Finding Funboy by Matt Golec

“Finding Funboy” by Matt Golec

Why did you pick the setting you used in your story?

I set most of my novel, “Finding Funboy,” in Portland, Maine, the town where I grew up. I’ve lived other places since -- places I’ve enjoyed more, places I’ve been more excited about showing visitors -- but like friends you have from childhood, the place where you grow up has an emotional hold on you that runs pretty deep. I hoped that emotional connection I have with Portland would translate into a rich setting for “Finding Funboy.”



What does the setting add to the story?

Portland is a small city where the main character -- a young man not quite out of college -- has lived all of his life. As he comes of age, the main character
realizes that if he really wants to move into adulthood, he may have to leave the familiar setting of Portland behind, at least for a while.



Could you write the same story in a different setting?

Not with the same depth or command of details.



Why or why couldn't you use a different setting?

An important theme in “Finding Funboy” is growing up, and the setting allowed me to contrast the changes happening in the main character with the comfortable but relatively static place he’s always known.



Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting? Or, did you create the setting from scratch?

Portland is a real place, but I did play a bit loose with some of the geography and place names to serve the narrative. Hopefully, long-time residents won’t be too upset with the slight liberties I took.



Is there anything else about your setting that we need to know? Feel free to share.

Although Portland has changed in the 20 years or so since I last lived there full-time, it’s still a place I enjoy coming back to. It was a sincere pleasure to
feel as if I was ‘living’ there again while writing “Finding Funboy.”



Please provide your website link.
www.mattgolec.com



What is the link to buy your book?
www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_07/finding_funboy.html
or www.lulu.com/content/1041286



Tell us some specific details about your setting. What would we see? What sort of people are there? If we were traveling to your setting, what should we bring with us? For visitors, what do they need to know to visit your setting?

Above all, visitors should bring their appetites. Portland is an old coastal city with cobblestone streets and red brick storefronts, and you can hardly swing a summer tourist without hitting a wonderful restaurant. Jackets are also nice to have along for those cool, foggy nights, and sunscreen and a towel will come in handy for plunking down at one of the Portland area’s many beaches.



Thank you for sharing details about your book setting. Now, what's the title of your book and where can we buy it?

You can buy “Finding Funboy” at www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_07/finding_funboy.html
or www.lulu.com/content/1041286

CJ Maxx - Coming Back a Virgin

Why did you pick the setting you used in your story? I'm not looking for -- "because I live there". I want you to dig deep and tell us...
Okay. I won’t give you “because I live there”. I’ll be more flippant, because it fit the story. Now, I’ll explain.

Why you chose that particular setting?
My hero doesn’t have a clue about romance or women. In his spare time he writes mainstream novels with pornographic sex scenes. I wanted his surroundings and his apartment to reflect someone with little intimate contact with actual females.

What does the setting add to the story?
It reinforces who he is. He sees his place as a cool bachelor pad. The state of disarray, the lack of food, the mismatched furniture, his collection of X-rated videos, the need of a thorough cleaning, and everything else points to the lack of females in his life and his cluelessness.

Could you write the same story in a different setting?
I suppose I could have made him a compulsive cleaner without a clue about women but it would have taken a lot out of the story. No, the setting’s critical to the story.

Why or why couldn't you use a different setting?
My whole point about the setting was to reinforce his weaknesses. Besides that, it gives my heroine something to bitch about, something to question why she’s there.

Did you use a real place as a basis for your setting?
No. The apartment is imaginary. I used the name of a restaurant in the Knoxville, Tennessee area but I never identify where he lives. I’ve used that restaurant in another story and I just like the name of it. I’ve never been there.

Or, did you create the setting from scratch?
Definitely from scratch, the apartment is never described until the heroine makes her walk-through inspection. Much to her disgust, I might add.

Is there anything else about your setting that we need to know? Feel free to share.
The transformation of the setting is essential to the story. It changes from a bachelor’s slovenly haven into something that a woman could enter without cringing. In fact, some actual romance takes places there.

Please provide your website link.www.cjmaxx.net

What is the link to buy your book?http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=211

Tell us some specific details about your setting. What would we see? What sort of people are there? If we were traveling to your setting, what should we bring with us? For visitors, what do they need to know to visit your setting?
This is probably not a good question for me since the story deals almost exclusively with two characters inside his apartment.

Thank you for sharing details about your book setting. Now, what's the title of your book and where can we buy it?
The title is Coming Back a Virgin and the publisher is Whiskey Creek Press-Torrid. It can be purchased from them. The link is in a previous question.