Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed Matthew Bond via phone call on June 28th, 2025. Some of the questions have been rearranged and edited to provide the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.
“Making Ends Meet” blends science fiction, faith, and frontier grit—what inspired you to set this story on Mars?
I picked Mars because it’s a tangible place to colonize in the near future and I think the plot needed a little distance from Earth (further than the moon). Mars and the wild west have always made great settings for story, because of the hazards, unknowns and sense of adventure. I wanted to portray Mars as an obtainable goal much like going West in the 1800s was for the average citizen.
How does your Catholic worldview shape the narrative?
That’s a very good question! It’s really integral to the story. But I try to present the faith in everyday clothes. I wanted a story that feels like a saint story of old but brought to a future we can look forward to. I feel that C.S. Lewis used a direct approach with Christian allegory whereas Tolkien was more subtle. I wanted to strike a balance between these two approaches.
Your characters wrestle with freedom, survival, and truth—classic sci-fi themes. How did your own vocation shift from science to carpentry and writing influence those elements?
Those are absolutely tied together. My science background built my understanding of reason, and my carpentry background helped build my faith. I think my vocation shift gave me a better perspective on the working class and the academic class. I wanted to show how tradesmen and scientists are both smart people and play important roles in the community. There’s characters in the story who represent both sides. I have been in the academic world for a decade and been in the trades for two and a half years. My love for both worlds really blended together while writing this book.
You mentioned wanting to bring back the feel of “leather bound tomes and tales.” What role does beauty—physical or literary—play in storytelling for you as a Catholic writer?
I think it’s a part of storytelling that we are missing today. Mainstream storytelling feels more manufactured versus being crafted. It’s meant to only entertain, whereas a good story entertains, and evokes thought and emotion. Beauty derives from truth; for writing I think that means authentic, relatable stories that the reader can put themselves in. I don’t think my prose or plot is always ‘beautiful’, but I can say the story is because it’s one from my heart to the reader’s. True beauty is found in the love of God. My own love of God grew while I wrote this book and that’s what I hope to convey on the page.
Dystopias often focus on decay, but your synopsis hints at hope and community. How do you balance the bleakness of a fractured world with a faith-filled vision of redemption?
It really gets at the heart of the book. How do I answer this without giving too much of the story away? Life’s not fair, and living ain’t easy… I try to write brutally true to the human condition. But just like in the real world, the balance comes from people. How do characters act, or think, when faced with the harshness of reality? Where do they find their comfort and peace? Or to whom do they turn?
What does “Making Ends Meet” ultimately say about human dignity and vocation—two major themes in Catholic social teaching?
Every human is made in the image and likeness of God and called to be one of His children. I endeavored to make this a core theme in my book: that all are called to new life and deserving of love, no matter their past. I have a pretty wide range of characters whose vocations and faith are dynamic throughout the novel. Much like our everyday lives, there are priests, married couples, parents, singles, lay Catholics, loosely adherent Christians, agnostics, and atheists. All at different stages of life.
As someone engaged to be married, how has your relationship influenced how you portray love, trust, or sacrifice in the story?
I wouldn’t have been able to write it without Merry, my fiance. Experiencing this love for the first time, influenced how I wrote. She has been supportive to me with encouragement and in helping me write it too. Merry has been a part of the book from the beginning.
Finding her and finding Jesus’ love in this life definitely helped in the crafting of this book. She was the one who helped bring me back to the Catholic faith.
If a reader finishes your book and thinks about one deeper spiritual or moral question, what would you want that question to be?
There are so many good questions! “Is faith so unreasonable?’ That’s a question I was thinking of as my book’s tagline.
I think it will be interesting how different people (with various backgrounds) read the book differently. I’m so excited for people to get to read it and see how it plays out.
Where can my readers learn more and receive updates about your work?
You can check out my Instagram @makingendsmeet.book and my website, www.makingendsmeetbook.com . You can also email me at makingendsmeet.book@gmail.com
