Welcome to the RPLA Showcase
2016 Unpublished Science Fiction
The Brazos Formation by Matthew Rieder
In The Brazos Formation, while prospecting for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, Rich Plithers and his crew discover an undersea chasm filled with bizarre, dangerous creatures. Rich must seal the chasm to survive.
At the 2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards Banquet, author Matthew Rieder won First Place in the Unpublished Science Fiction category. Each year at the RPLA Banquet, authors experience the joy of earning accolades for all the hard work that is often done in the privacy of the home with little to no recognition. We’re showcasing the best of the best with our First Place winners spotlight. Not only does RPLA recognize extraordinary talent, but we’re giving readers an opportunity to sample excerpts from the winning stories.
Click the link to read a sample:
Excerpt from The Brazos Formation
Q & A with Matthew Rieder
Q: Where do you get your story ideas?
A: I’ve got a busy brain. It’s always been that way, even when I was a kid. Maybe it’s because I’m an only child, or maybe it’s some long-forgotten head injury. Either way, my mind is always at work on reality, making it strange.
Q: Anything in particular about your award-winning RPLA entry that you’d like to share?
A: This particular story is rooted (somewhat precariously) in reality. In the fourth grade, I read a book on underwater exploration. One of the famous submersibles—Alvin or Trieste, maybe—found these pits in the seafloor, way down there. A huge grouper was observed to enter one and never come out. Ever since, I’ve imagined what might have happened to that grouper. THE BRAZOS FORMATION is a product of those musings.
Q: Whom do you credit with inspiring your writing?
A: My parents. They always read to me, and Dad could tell one heck of a bedtime story.
Q: Any tips for new writers?
A: Discipline, discipline, discipline. More than anything this has enhanced my technique. Write every day—whether sick, or tired, or depressed, or washed-up. Some of my best material has come on my worst days.
Thank you for sharing, Matthew, and congratulations! Visit his website: www.matthewrieder.com
A message about supporting literacy in Florida:
If every member of FWA went to Smile.Amazon.com, chose Florida Writers Foundation, Inc. as their charity and, instead of logging into Amazon.com, logged into Smile.Amazon.com, FWF would receive 0.5% of the purchase funds. Every time.
We could significantly fund the literacy efforts of our organization. No money out of your pockets…just some invested time to set this up.
How easy for us to make a difference. To see all of our work, please read the pages of our website www.floridawritersfoundation.com. You’ll be proud.
Tom Swartz, President, FWF
