November 1, 2022

Dear Reader,

(Big news at the end of this MPL.)

Wait, it's not the 21st, is it?

Nope.

Surprise.

Happy Publication Day.

We Are the Light is officially born today. 1.1 pounds and 256 pages. 

May it find many readers and put some good into the world.

Thank you for going on this journey with me. As you will soon see when you read WATL, my latest is about finding ways to bring ourselves and others out of the darkness and back into the light. As the M.P.L. has illustrated over the past half year or so, I had to fight pretty hard to get to a point where I could offer myself once again to the creative process and channel my latest, bringing it forth from deep within me. Writing WATL was cathartic for yours truly. I hope the reading experience will also be cathartic for you.

My protagonist Lucas Goodgame tries to save the town of Majestic, PA with art, but he needs his community to save him too. In many ways, communicating with all of you via the M.P.L. has saved me. I enjoy being with all of you in this once-a-month container. WATL is what I have to offer you today. I truly believe it is the best I have to give at this point in my life.

There are millions of books in the world. Every day more novels enter. It's the readers who ultimately decide which will be successful. So I leave the matter in your capable hands.

If today you pick up your copy of WATL at your local book store, or if it arrives in the mail, or a friend or loved one hands it to you, might you document the experience with a pic and share it in some way? 

Perhaps posting on social media, if you are a social media person? 

Maybe sending the pic as a text to some people in your life who might be interested in my latest?

Or perhaps you can simply tell people about your upcoming WATL read. 

I'd really appreciate it. These things help more than you might realize.

If the reading experience lives up to expectations, please do share that with the world. All-the-stars internet reviews and raves—on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, wherever books are reviewed—make a difference and often help determine whether writers get to keep publishing novels.

And please keep telling people about the M.P.L.

Big News:

We Are the Light is a Book of the Month Club Pick for November 2022. Check out what the novelist Nickolas Butler has to say on the BOTM website:

"This remarkable novel explores themes of community, forgiveness, kindness, and yes, the dark violence that seems to be inherent in the American Experience. But it eschews politics in favor of humanity, ignores easy answers in favor of hard-won redemption. ... feels like a warm hand on your shoulder. This is the novel so many of us have been searching for in these troubled times. I promise you it will affect you like no other book you’ve read in a long time." —Nickolas Butler, Book of the Month Club Pick

(If you haven't read Nick's work yet, remedy that immediately. It's stunning, warm, generous, and beautiful. One of my favorite writers.)

And WATL has also received its first tremendous review in a major paper:

“When you read Quick, you don’t feel guilty if your tears are mixed with laughter. . . . His skill at crafting an engaging narrative around trauma is as strong as ever. . . . We Are the Light is a reminder that grief is complex and that we shouldn’t be afraid to grasp the hands stretched out to help us. As the title points out, even in the dark, there can be light.” —Karin Tanabe, The Washington Post

I hope to see some of you out there in the world during book tour. Here is a reminder of all the places I will be headed in the coming weeks, both in person and virtually—including two you can live stream today:

EVENTS

(Some require registration.)

And here's something you can read right now: 

Indie Next List Matthew Quick Interview

Thanks once again and then a million more times.

You are, of course, the absolute best and most cherished readers in the universe.

I look forward to continuing this journey with you.

Good things ahead.

Okay, friends.

Until the 21st of November 2022, please remember that wherever you are in the world, whatever your current battle may be, your man in Coastal NC is sending you good vibes. Always.

----------------------------------

MATTHEW

p.s.—If someone forwarded you this letter and you've enjoyed it, we can make it a regular thing. Subscribe and check out the archive here: Monthly Personal Letter.