Author Interview: Matthew Rapaport

Author Matthew Rapaport published his fourth novel in December 2024

What inspired you to write this particular book?

A research article from 2018 (cited in the novel) suggests that orgasms activate and strengthen a part of the brain linked to compassion and tolerance. It was a small leap from there leading to liberal politics.

What was the most unexpected challenge you encountered while writing the book?

Time management. In the first draft, most of the novel occurs in a month, but I needed to get to a year later for the ending without radically breaking the story’s pacing. I invented a related substory or two, or three, to occupy much of that time.

Can you share a moment from your personal life that inspired a scene or character in the book?

Ha! Not on a family-friendly website. Physically, my characters are all portraits of men and women I know (friends), but only their physical description—clothed—is real. Their “characters” are whatever I need them to be for the story. Some would be shocked if they knew who was who—I change names but always use their real first letter.

How long did it take you to write this book, and what was your writing process like?

Five months to draft, another six to rewrite and edit through three iterations. I am a pantster. I sit and start writing from chapter 1 until I get to the end. Following that, I let the text sit for a month and then rewrite/edit in parallel using the full power of Grammarly editing software, something I highly recommend to all self-publishing authors. With each iteration, I recognized more material I could chop out. I intended to get the original 90k-word draft down to 70k words. I ended up with 80k.

What perspectives or beliefs have you challenged with this work?

It’s surreal absurdism or absurd surrealism. The story is nonsense with no bearing on real human life. The named characters are all sympathetic; the only villains are abstractions like “the administration.” or Congressional committees. I aim at comedic entertainment, and that is all. If there is anything I challenge, it is the view that artificial intelligence cannot acquire a true persona.

If your book were adapted into a film, who would be your dream cast for the main characters?

Maybe Grace Jones could be Annette. Nicole Kidman could be Dr. Parker. There are three important Indian women but I do not know any Bollywood actresses. And Aniko? How about Moeka Hoshi (Shogun, 2024)?

How much research did you need to do for your book?

Very little. I had to Google a few things related to the geography of the various settings since I’ve never been to any of those places.

Which character do you relate to the most and why?

The story is told in first person, so the narrator, who’s name is Matthew, but otherwise, he is not me. He is half my age.

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

A good laugh.

What was the hardest scene to write, and why?

There is a transition from one part of the world to another. I had too many lovers to take with me. I had to kill a few of them off. That was difficult. I love all my girlfriends. Even the imaginary ones.

Could you have written this story without all the sex?

The moral (if you will) of the story is that good sex—the “good” part is important—can influence politics, so no.

Click here to get your copy of LoveMe Inc.