Greetings mortals, immortals, the undead, the comatose or just plain slow, and welcome to my beardy blog for the Desire Card blog tour. I am thrilled that you have taken the time to stop by and see what I have to offer you on my stop of this very exciting blog tour.
So, what is The Desire Card? Well, it is the title of a book, innit. But not just any old book, oh no; it is a most splendid book indeed. It is the Fahrenheit Press debut by Lee Matthew Goldberg and it is a real doozy.
Hey, I have just had a wizard idea:
Why don’t you hit the little link below and check out my review from way back in February, or, to give it its correct name, Fahrenbruary? It will fill you in on all the deets about the story before you head on in to the Q&A.
I know right? I’m a clever old stick. I’m not just a pretty beard 😉
#Fahrenbruary Review: The Desire Card – Lee Matthew Goldberg
Wowsers McTrousers, if that hasn’t piqued your interest then I just don’t know what will, frankly.
So, desire, eh? Desire can be a dangerous thing. It can tear at your very soul like a hungry Cenobite.
Desire can eat away at you like a terribly tenacious termite through a tasty timber table at tea-time on Tuesday.
Desire can bring you happiness, like a pelican who has just dived into the annual anchovy who’s-the-fattest-anchovy competition at the end of a particularly strong year for fat anchovies.
Desire can be a force for good: who doesn’t desire to be happy in their lives? Whether that is with a significant other, a fluffy pooch, or your dream job.
Desire, however, can be also be a force for bad or evil: we all know about the despots of the world whose only desire is to wield absolute power and cause misery to others. What bastards.
So what is my desire? I believe a certain Lucifer Morningstar is the man to ask me that:
I desire….
Dairy Milk chocolate. I know it’s not very exciting, but I have a real hankering right now.
Episode IX of Star Wars. Hurry up already., I could be dead by December 🙄
Superman powers. Not just superpowers, as that could cover anything from reading minds to being able to open a jar of jam. But Superman powers because Superman is cool and shizz. Plus I could fly anywhere I wanted, Brexit be damned, and I could open any jar of jam I wanted to. No one would have to loosen it for me first.
Ice cream. Rum and raisin, a lifetimes supply, preferably Kelly’s, in a nice Cornetto style cone. Oh, and also a lifetimes supply of those too. Or, failing that, a lifetimes supply of those little tub things and the wooden spoons that go with them.
Red cabbage. The pickled kind that I used to have as a kid. Where’s that gone? It’s probably still available if I looked hard enough, but it’s one of those foods of childhood that strongly evokes feelings and memories of those more innocent and carefree days.
Every first edition hardback that Stephen King has ever written. Signed and kissed by the man himself.
And that is literally my DESIRE. I really need to have a word with myself, don’t I?
Also, do you see what I did up there? See? No? *sigh* Okay, I know, I know, get on with the sodding Q&A:
Questions by Emma Welton.
Answers by Lee Matthew Goldberg, obviously.
First of all, can you please tell us about your latest book:
Hi, my latest novel The Desire Card is about an organization that promises it’s elite clients “Any wish fulfilled for the right price.” My main character Harrison Stockton contacts the Card because he has liver trouble and needs a new one. Not to give away spoilers, but this request does not turn out well for him. It is the first book in a series of international thrillers. The second book Prey No More is coming out later this year.
Where do you find inspiration for your novels?
Reading is a big inspiration but film and television are as well. Music and art are up there too. It all depends on what I’m working on. Part of The Desire Card takes place in Mumbai and deals with organ trafficking so there was a lot of intense research about that. Nature is also a big inspiration. I live in New York City and write most days in Central Park. I find that being surrounded by nature really sparks my creativity.
Who is your writing hero?
My favorite writer hands down is F. Scott Fitzgerald. I love thrillers, but he just has a way with words that made me want to be a writer as well. The Great Gatsby is an obvious classic but I love Beautiful and the Damned, Tender is the Night and my favorite short story of his is Babylon Revisited. It’s a shame he died so young and we only have a limited amount of his works.
Which book do you wish you had written?
Going along with what I said: definitely the Great Gatsby. It’s perfect from start to finish and every sentence is beautiful. It’s tragic and really captures a time and place, but feels so modern. I try to reread it every few years and always pick up something new. I still have my edition from high school and get a kick out of seeing the notes I made in the margins.
What advice would you give to someone considering taking the plunge and attempting to write their first novel?
Writing is not easy, but if it’s your passion and you have a story to tell – go for it! Make sure you’re disciplined. I’m very fast writing novels now, but my first one took years. Sometimes it can take ten years to write a book. You have to be ready for that. And then of course, there’s selling the book. Rejection can be very hard and if you don’t have a thick skin, it’ll really destroy you. But it’s all worth it if it’s what you love to do.
If you could have a dinner party and invite three other writers (living or dead), who would you invite?
Stephen King has been a big influence recently. I’m amazed by how prolific he is so I would love to get his advice about that. I’m a big fan of John Irving and so many of his books that are long but never feel boring. Since I talked about F. Scott Fitzgerald enough, let’s leave him out of the party. Wuthering Heights has always been one of my favorite books so Emily Bronte would be the last one, and I’d ask about other ideas she had for novels that she never got to write.
What’s the one question you wish I had asked and what’s the answer?
What are you working on now?
I’m writing a book that’s a blend of genres called The Ancestor. It takes place in present time Alaska and during the Gold Rush in the late 1800s. It’s the first historical novel I’ve written and it’s been really fun learning about that era and Alaska in general.
My biggest thanks to Emma Welton, aka the magnificent Damppebbles, for asking the questions and allowing me to post them on my blog. And of course to Lee Matthew Goldberg for taking the time to answer them.
You can buy The Desire Card form the links below. DON’T FORGET that if you buy the paperback directly from Fahrenheit Press you get the eBook completely FREE, and this is true for any paperback you buy direct from them.
Purchase Links:
Fahrenheit Press: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_the_desire_card.html
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1912526352/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeeMatthewG
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leemgol
Website: http://www.leematthewgoldberg.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leematthewgoldberg/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lee-Matthew-Goldberg/e/B00RPF06TS/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
Be sure to check out all the other marvellous bloggers on the Desire Card blog tour. 😁
The Beardy Book Blogger 
Thanks so much, Mart x
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Now I can’t stop saying Wowsers McTrousers and I want chocolate.
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Hehe, my work here is done… *Wanders off into the sunset* 😉
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You forgot to add the song that accompanies you into the sunset!! ALWAYS THINK OF THE SOUNDTRACK!
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“always look on the bright side of life”? 😆
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Not bad :p
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