Anything is Possible When You Release the Reins with Author Catherine Matthews -98

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Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:02

Welcome to author Express. Thanks for checking us out. This is the podcast where you give us 15 minutes of your time, and we give you a chance to hear the voice behind the pages and get to know your new favorite author in a new light. I'm Shawna Rodriguez, one of your hosts, a fellow author host of the Grit show and Authenticity Amplified podcast, and the founder of Authentic Connections podcast Network, which makes this podcast possible. Let me tell you a little about today's guest. Catherine Matthews is a Pacific Northwest author and educator. Through her novels, she tells the stories of strong women finding the courage to face a storm and live their dreams, usually in the company of a faithful hound. Catherine's debut novel, releasing the reins, was released in June of 2024.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:57

Catherine Dodson called it an epic tale about justice, fairness, and standing up for oneself. Catherine was thrilled when reviewer Sidney Hampton said, bunny is a feminist icon that knows taking the easy road isn't always easy, but what you're meant to do. Catherine's longtime blog, life through my lens, examines life through the stories of her youth and her adventures in parenting, teaching, and leading schools committed to strengthening community among writers. She is a board member and the vice president of technology for the Women's Fiction Writers association, and she even gave me technology help today. So she lives this as well as does this. She is up before dawn to start her day with her favorite thing, writing. Thank you so much for being here today with us, Catherine.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:01:41

I'm thrilled to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:43

Yes. And I love this because if anyone listens to author express, they might be aware that Christy is good about oftentimes reading the books before she interviews authors. And, and Kathleen does that sometimes. I rarely have an opportunity to do that, and this is one of the few times where I've read the book. So I'm very excited that I get to interview an author whose book I read before we've had the interview, which rarely happens. So that's a little bonus for me this time. So the first thing I want to start with was tell us something interesting about where you are from.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:02:14

I'm from Washington state, and I think one of the most interesting things, maybe that people don't know is that we are surrounded by five active volcanoes.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:27

Ooh, I don't think I realized there was five.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:02:29

Yeah, yeah. Baker, Glacier Peak, Rainier, Adams, and Mount St. Helens. So I wrote a piece once called living in the shadow of the mountain, just thinking about how beautiful and yet potentially treacherous that is.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:46

Yes, exactly. Were you, I'm guessing you were living in Washington when St. Helens exploded in the eighties, then.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:02:53

Yeah, I was, as a matter of fact, yeah, I was in high school. I shouldn't say that. Right. It dates me.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:59

You're allowed to say that. You're allowed to say that. No, that was like, probably something that you remember. But a lot of the ash went south, didn't it, versus going north. Were you north of where Rainier, where St. Helens was?

Catherine Matthews [: 00:03:11

Right. Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:11

Yeah. So it probably wasn't as memorable because you didn't have the effect of the ash.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:03:15

Right.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:15

I wasn't as close, yes, I was in southern, southern Oregon, where we did have southern, southern Oregon. So I was in a whole different state on the southern end of that state, still had the effect of the ash. And so Mount St. Helens exploding was definitely something from my childhood that I remember. And just that fact that that's a thing. And I lived in Portland, close to, in South Tabor, very close to Mount Tabor, which is a volcano that's in the city limits in Portland. And so, yeah, the fact that there's, I didn't realize that there was five in Washington. That's amazing.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:03:46

Yeah, Washington is very beautiful.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:48

Yeah, Pacific Northwest, I love. Yeah, Washington is gorgeous. There's a lot of places in Washington I still haven't gotten to explore. Have you seen a lot of it?

Catherine Matthews [: 00:03:55

Yeah. You know, I spent the vast majority of my life here, so I lived a little bit in Texas, a little bit in Georgia, and I was in college in Alaska, but most of my time here, so, yeah, I've seen almost all of the state, I would say.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:11

I love that. So she let us in on the fact that she lived in Alaska for a little while because her book is set in Alaska, which is one of the things I ask her about. And I was curious about her connection to that. Let's learn a little bit more about you. Who was somebody that knew you well when you were growing up, and how would they describe you?

Catherine Matthews [: 00:04:30

You know, I would probably say one of my sisters would have known me the best when I was growing up, and I think they would have said that I was pretty strong willed and stubborn and very achievement oriented, that I would set a goal and I really wouldn't give up. I was very persistent with what I wanted to do.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:05:01

Very, very important skill to become a writer because that's definitely one thing you had to have that goal and consistently work towards. Right.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:05:08

So true. And know that they're going to be setbacks. You know that if failure is not really a failure, it's an opportunity to learn something get better and move on to, you know, in writing. That's so true, because the first time you sit down to write a book, as you well know, like, you think it's just write the book, and it's so much more than that. Like, when you hit the end, it is not the end at all.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:05:35

Yes, yes. So many more layers that process. That's incredible. So I find it interesting. How many sisters did you have?

Catherine Matthews [: 00:05:42

I have three sisters. Yeah. An older one and two. Younger than.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:05:46

Yeah. Okay. And how did you have any brothers?

Catherine Matthews [: 00:05:48

I have two step brothers.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:05:50

So this is interesting because your main character only had brothers.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:05:54

Yeah. And that was really intentional because this book is a lot about finding a place where you can belong as your authentic self. And so the main character in this book, all she's ever wanted to do was work on her family farm and really grew up thinking she was an equal member of this farm and is quite devastated when her father retires, gives the farm to her brothers. I mean, it's sort of what propels her to go to Alaska, because she wants to prove herself as a ranch. And of course, when she gets there, she finds out it's not that easy. But I think having the brothers was really important because part of it is exploring this idea that there are a million ways to be a woman. And whatever way you choose to be a woman is the right way. And she chooses a different way than most and, in fact, has to confront some of her biases about how women ought to be.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:58

Oh, that's beautiful. I love that. And we skipped right into the book and didn't give you a chance to describe it. But is there anything else you'd like to add in describing your book?

Catherine Matthews [: 00:07:08

Well, I think just the other component of the book is that, of course, when she gets to Alaska, she discovers that the rancher she works for is daughter who had died two years before, that it wasn't an accident. And while she's compelled to explore that mystery, it's also a risk of losing that place that she's finally found where she feels like she truly belongs and has worked really hard to earn that spot. So there's quite a lot of tension there. It's a dual timeline, multiple pov books. There's a lot going on.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:49

Yes. And I love that your themes are so strong in the book. Like you said, what you brought to light in it, and at the same time, this really intriguing story that has a suspense, that has this element of mystery about what actually occurred and trying to get to the bottom of it. But this high stakes of what she's created and what she stands to lose if she actually does discover the truth.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:08:11

Exactly. Yeah. And hopefully it's clear that there are other things that need to be explored and that it will grow into a series that'll be just as rich as this book. And there's a little mystery hinted at that will become the next book.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:08:30

Very interesting. And your depth of characters is very exciting. I know that I was intrigued and drawn to her family of origin. Like her brothers, like getting to know her brothers. They were reflections. Right. They were her talking about her backstory. They weren't actually there present in her time in Alaska.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:08:45

It was so intriguing to get to know them as well. So besides your main character, who obviously you're very connected to, was there any other characters you were really excited to write in your book?

Catherine Matthews [: 00:08:55

The other one I was really excited to write is sort of the villain, I guess, the Rocky, who is just a conglomeration of every awful characteristic. I think anyone who's ever annoyed me knows.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:12

There you go, all in one.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:09:14

But it was kind of fun because you have to give the character some redeeming qualities. And Rocky loves his son, though it may be a little bit misled or not a healthy feeling about being a parent, but he does love his kids and yet, you know, he's kind of a horrible person. And that really, I think, comes through. And there's a lot of freedom in having a chance to write a character like that. Right. Because you kind of have to get in their head a little bit, which is a place you don't normally allow yourself to go. You want to be a good person and positive. And I.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:09:57

So how do you put yourself in the mind of an older man who has some very, very old dysfunctional feelings about women and about raising kids and about business and about his relationships with people. He uses people. That was an interesting one to write, really. And I guess I would say all of the characters stretched me a little. So writing Buck, that really stretched me a lot as well. Because he had kind of a challenging background as well.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:10:34

And to find their places. Yes. And to have this incredible women's fiction book that actually had a lot of male characters in it to be able to explore and to be able to play off against and to be able to build against, too. It's kind of an exciting piece. And then to look at your writing journey moving forward, you mentioned that the next book you've worked on that you're in later phases on is a story about sisters. So kind of going a different direction?

Catherine Matthews [: 00:11:00

Oh, yeah. It is very different. I mean, I hope my writing style of engaging people with the setting and depth of character, I think all of that comes through, but it's more modern times. It's a road trip, sisters book, a family secrets book. I think people will laugh and cry and have lots of emotion around it. I know I was revising the last three chapters last weekend and I was, like crying as I read it. And I know what happens. I know how it turns out.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:11:37

Oh, but I think that's fun, too.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:40

Yes. Well, in that depth, I think the family secrets piece that unraveling things, you have a good sense to be able to unravel things. Is that something you always thought you would write with that suspense, or did it just come with your stories as you put them together, that there's this element of suspense and unraveling that happens?

Catherine Matthews [: 00:11:58

You know, I don't know if I consciously said this is the kind of story I want to write. I consciously said I want to write about women, and strong women in particular, or people, women who are finding their strengths. But I am endlessly fascinated with family relationships and how the past can haunt us into the future and how easy it is for misunderstandings to happen, not just in your family of origin, but the family we create around us. So I think that makes for an interesting story because we all go into life thinking we know whats happening right in front of us. And the truth is, everybody has this backstory, this experience, and I believe people are generally acting with the best intention, given what they know, given their prior experience. And so part of it is like, unraveling that. Why? Why is Rocky so awful? What happened to him? You know, why does Bunny have such a chip on her shoulder when she starts out? What does she learn from that? I think those are all really important things to explore.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:13:17

Yes.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:13:17

And things we can all relate to, right? I mean, everybody has these moments where they go, what just happened? All I said was pass the milk. We're suddenly in this huge kerfuffle. I don't know what happened. I think that's just really interesting. The past lives in us, whether we want to or not.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:13:43

Absolutely. That is incredible. And I'm so glad that you're writing that. I love it. And what is the best place for people to find you and to follow your new books that you're writing that are coming out in the series to come related to releasing the rains.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:13:56

So, catherinematthewsauthor.com that has all the information about books and my social media is, is all on there and my blog as well. And so that's probably the best place to find me. And what you want to know about me, that's awesome.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:14:14

And we'll have that in the show notes as well. So it'll be easy to connect and just follow those links and tell us what is the story or book that you find most inspiring.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:14:24

I'm actually going to go to a nonfiction book, so this was a gift from my father when I was about eleven or twelve. My dad worked for a publishing company. Loved books. Books were all always anywhere my father was, and he gave me a book called Politics is my Parish, which is a biography of Brooks Hayes, which many people do not even know who this was. He's a senator in Arkansas, and right at the time that schools were being desegregated and he basically sacrificed his whole political career to protect the little Rock nine, which were the nine african american kids who wanted to go to Central high school. And he just was, to me, someone who followed that North Star, that compass. So I have always been inspired by him to follow the passion and understand that there are consequences and costs to everything. And even when the cost is high, it's important to do the right thing.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:32

Oh, that's beautiful. I love that. And what a young age for you to be getting that book and to be getting that perspective.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:15:40

Yeah. My dad didn't really put any boundaries on reading. Yeah. He worked in the college textbook division and so we had college textbooks around our house all the time, and I just thought that was normal.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:55

That's exciting. Yes. The world is your oyster. There's plenty to read and discover. That's amazing.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:16:01

Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:16:03

Thank you so much for being here and sharing with us about your book that's only been out a few months and is doing wonderful things to connect with people and share that story and for the books you have coming out in the future.

Catherine Matthews [: 00:16:14

Oh, thank you so much. It has been a pleasure to talk with you.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:16:21

Thank you for joining us. I hope you take a second to give us stars or review on your favorite podcasting platform. It really makes a difference in folks being able to find us. We'll be here again next Wednesday. Follow us on Instagram at authorexpresspodcast to see who's coming up next. And don't forget, keep it express, but keep it interesting.