The blog of author Matthew J. Kirby

Category: Life

  • The Quantum League! And some other stuff.

    First things first. The news is out, so I’m excited to announce my next writing project. From Publishers Weekly: Lisa Sandell at Scholastic Press has acquired a three-book middle-grade fantasy series called The Quantum League by Matthew J. Kirby, author of The Clockwork Three and Icefall. In the series, two best friends fight modern-day magicians…

  • Why I moved.

    I mentioned in a previous post that I had recently moved from Northern Utah to Northern Idaho. When I tell people this, I get one of two responses. Either they’ve been here, and they understand, and they nod along saying something to the effect of, “Oh, I’m so jealous.” Or they’ve never been here, and…

  • Autumn at Sundance

    Just some photos from a trip to see the fall leaves at Sundance.  We rode the “scenic lift,” which in the wintertime is a “ski lift.”  At one point the lift passed over a couple of moose, which was pretty cool.  I love autumn, and here in Utah it’s always over much too quickly…  …

  • Turkish Delight

    Summer is here.  And once again I’m reminded that I find the idea of summer to be much more appealing than the real thing.  I like playing in the water, I like barbecuing, and because I work in education, summer still has that childhood association with “No school!”  But ultimately the heat just kills me. …

  • A Chained Heart

    Last week, we had a freak storm sweep into our area.  One minute, things were pretty calm.  A little overcast, maybe, but not bad weather.  The next minute, 70 mph winds start raging and pelting us with hail.  The assault lasts for about 5 minutes, and then it just stops.  Things go back to pretty…

  • “I’m a dog, I’m a workin’ dog, I’m a hard-workin’ dog!”

    Something I don’t think I’ve mentioned on this blog is that I love dogs.  I am what people call a “dog person.”  For most of my life, I’ve never been without a canine friend and companion. And because I love dogs, I also enjoy dog-related activities and events.  I meant to write a post about…

  • Revisions done! Also, a few more reviews.

    Well, I survived. And what’s even better than that, I feel good. When I began Book 2 (which now has a title, and which I will hopefully be able to announce soon) I knew I was venturing into unknown territory in terms of my skill as a writer. It was a great big gamble as…

  • The Clockwork Three book launch report, as well as a few other cool things

    Last week, The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City hosted the official launch of The Clockwork Three.  It was truly a wonderful experience.  The event was well-attended, with lots of family and friends there to show their support.  My parents and my sister even traveled in from out-of-state, and it meant a lot to…

  • The Clockwork Three – Launch Party

    I just received something amazing in the mail from Lisa, my editor.  It’s this: I cannot tell you how satisfying and surreal it is to hold that in my hands.  Years of hard work, rejection, more hard work, more rejection, finally culminating in this.  A book.  That I wrote.  For all the writers out there…

  • Curse you, Doctor Who!

    More on the title of this entry in a moment.  First things first. I had one more entry I’d planned to write on my trip to NYC.  But that series of posts has already gone on longer than I’d planned, and anyway, the final day was mostly comprised of waiting in lines and passing through…