Matthew Blake: On Real-Life Mysteries Inspiring Fictional Mysteries
Matthew Blake is a London-based author who has also worked as a screenwriter with the BBC, ITV Studios, and numerous other U.K. indies. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
Matthew Blake
Pete Bartlett
In this post, Matthew discusses the process of writing a jaw-dropping ending with his new mystery novel, Anna O, his advice for other writes, and more!
Name: Matthew Blake
Literary agent: Madeline Milburn
Book title: Anna O
Publisher: Harper
Release date: January 2, 2024
Genre/category: Mystery crime thriller
Elevator pitch: Anna O, a 25-year-old writer, kills her two best friends while sleepwalking and then falls into a four-year-long deep sleep known as “resignation syndrome.” Dr. Benedict Prince, a sleep psychologist, must wake her up so she can stand trial for murder while figuring out what really happened that night and if Anna is innocent or guilty.
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What prompted you to write this book?
As a mystery writer, I’m always looking for topics that have an in-built mystery to them. Anna O was inspired by two real-life mysteries.
First, I came across real-life cases of people who commit murder while sleepwalking. Their eyes are open, but their brains are still asleep. But how do you prove whether someone really was asleep and whether they intended to carry out the act or not? It is inherently mysterious.
Second, I researched real-life cases of the mystery illness called “resignation syndrome.” This is where people fall into a deep sleep for potentially years on end, but there is no sign of organic disease on the brain. What would it be like to close your eyes and then never open them again? Or to wake up five years older from a deep sleep? What causes it and how does it happen?
Discovering these two real-life mysteries was my eureka moment. Anna O is about a 25-five-year-old writer who kills her two best friends while sleepwalking and then falls into a deep sleep. It follows the sleep psychologist Dr. Benedict Prince who must try and wake her up to stand trial for murder and discover whether she meant to carry out the murders that night and if she really was sleepwalking.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The book took about five years from idea to publication. A lot of that was spent doing research on sleep crime and sleep conditions and coming up with an epic final twist that even the most seasoned mystery fan wouldn’t see coming. Once I had the ending, however, nothing changed much during the process. It was mainly going deeper into the characters and their psychology and making them as complex and fascinating as possible.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
The main thrill was the extraordinary reaction on submission. We had 16 international offers within 48 hours and amazing bidding wars across the globe. I’d dare to dream about such a reaction but to be in the middle of it was a life-changing experience. Meeting all the global publishing teams at Frankfurt Book Fair recently was another standout moment of the publishing journey and touring the U.S. and Canada and hearing early bookseller reaction—and seeing everyone wearing Anna O sleep masks—was just incredible!
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
All my favorite mystery novels combine two key ingredients: iconic characters and jaw-dropping plot twists. Readers are also more sophisticated than ever and so well versed in all forms of suspense and mystery, thanks to Netflix boxsets and everything being on-demand. So, creating breathtaking twists that can completely wrongfoot readers and characters that are fresh and new and which haven’t been seen before is the ultimate writing challenge.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers will enjoy a fast, twisty mystery thriller with great characters and an ending that will get everyone talking. One of the things I’m most proud of is that everything in the novel is based on real-life. From sleep crime to forensic psychology, all of it is factual. Lots of early readers tell me they have lost themselves in internet rabbit holes afterwards looking at real-life cases of sleepwalking, sleep disorders and what they might really be capable of when they sleep. They say of Jaws that viewers never went in the water again. If I’ve done my job, then readers of Anna O will never sleep quite the same way again!
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Keep going. Writing a novel is a long, lonely experience and perseverance is the only way to reach the end.
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