Meet Matt Orlando | Author Screenwriter Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Orlando and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Pursuing a creative career? Why? That’s a difficult question to pinpoint. I don’t know all of the factors that lead one down a path to make a living off of what they create and present to the world. A path of self expression? For me it was a voice. It didn’t tell me what to do, only what not to do. It just said NO a lot until it said YES. I remember my dad having a conversation with me about going to college and getting a job at a company like Boeing where you could retire and they would pay your pension and take care of you for the rest of your life. That voice inside me screamed NO so loud that I was terrified I yelled it to his face. But when I wrote, when I typed the crappiest crap that was ever crapped, I was just happy. I only wanted to get better. No matter how hard it was or how long it took. When I wrote, even that crap, it was a YES.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I had written and directed my first full-length feature film and was working on getting my second going. I was bored of trying to raise money and be a producer. That’s all business stuff. I liked to be creative. I said to myself, just see if you could write a book. You don’t need to raise money, you don’t need to have a team, you don’t even need to think about what the budget range is. All you gotta do is sit down and type. What screenwriting had done for me, was give me a semblance of story structure. So I sat down and wrote the book I wanted to read, not thinking anyone would ever even read it. I paid a cover artist $99, posted it on Amazon and forgot about it. It was post-apocalyptic and humorous, and I doubted there was an audience for that. Then months later I checked to see if the book was still up and I had five five-star reviews from people I didn’t know. I was like… holy shit! People got a kick out of that book. So I wrote six more.

I trained MMA fighters for years teaching the boxing and kickboxing aspects of the sport, and I worked as a personal trainer as well. What that taught me was, that when you start something for the first time, you will suck at it. I sure sucked at writing. But I knew from training, that it’s just a matter of reps that gets you good at something. Getting good at anything takes time. It takes focus. It takes sacrifice. I also knew from martial arts that you must bring something that is unique to the table. We are all built completely different. What is good for one person might be terrible for another. You can only imitate for so long until it catches up with you. In full contact martial arts, catching up is only one second away. I applied that knowledge to my craft. There’s already a Stephen King, an Anne Rice, a Cormac McCarthy. The world doesn’t need another one. I does however need more people being themselves.

I treat writing like any other job. I wake up early and I write. An accountant doesn’t wake up and say, “I don’t think I’m going to go into work today because it’s Monday, and I hate Monday’s.” They’ll be out of a job pretty fast. I sit down and write the same amount of words every day whether they are good or bad words, and I have zero idea if anyone is going to read them. Ever. My job isn’t even to think about finishing a book, it’s to get my word count. Eventually, the book is finished. I type THE END and start writing the next one.

I never thought there would be an audience for my books. I didn’t know if anyone would read them. It just goes to show what can happen when you do the work, unattached to. the result. You never know. Just do your job.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Huntington Beach is Surf City USA. You come to visit me, you’re getting in the water and you’re standing up on a surfboard. Just being at the beach is good for the soul. For lunch, let’s go to In n Out and get some four by fours animal style. I can’t stand those fancy burger joints with their garlic chutney aioli, with purple kale slaw, and gruyere manchego goat infused cheese on a french tofu bun. We’re getting burgers that taste like burgers dammit! That or fish tacos and beer. Then I’m going to bed early. I gotta get up at four and write something.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to give a shoutout to my mom, Kathee Anderson. To do something as ridiculous as think you can make a living off of your creative work means you’re going to feel like you’re getting your teeth kicked in from time to time. It helps if you have someone to pick you up and dust you off. My mom has always been so encouraging, so excited by my little successes. She’s not only my biggest fan, but also copyedits all of my books… so that means she is very patient as well… the mistakes are many.

Website: mattorlandobooks.com

Instagram: @mattorlandobooks