Local “Kid” Turned Big City Author Uses Hometown and Dodge County as Inspiration for Debut Novel

“I guess you can come home again, both in the inspiration for your writing, and in the literal flesh,” says author Matthew J. Merrill as he prepares to attend a Meet the Author event hosted by Rosalee Book Boutique in Beaver Dam during the Wisconsin Arts & Peony Festival taking place June 14.
Small town nostalgia, teen angst, the optimism of youth, and diversity and attitudes toward “the other” in a town with a welcome sign that proudly boasts, “More bullheads Than People,” set the tone for local native turned Chicago author, Matthew J. Merrill’s debut novel, “The Cat House Tweens.”
“The impetus for the book came from my children, Harper and Cooper,” writes Merrill in the book’s preface. “Their experiences growing up are in stark contrast to mine. They are big city kids.”
Matt says he wants them to know and appreciate what life was like for him growing up in the small town of Burnett and attending school in Horicon. Merrill was a 1995 graduate of Horicon High School.
“I rode a bus to school every day. My core memories as a latch key kid are of exploring the fields and woods all day with my friends, leaving in the morning with a sack lunch and pellet gun in tow, returning at suppertime with my parents having little clue what adventures I might have found-from abandoned houses to creepy, secluded treehouses and deer stands, to floating rafts down the marsh. My teen years were full of corn field bonfires where we crafted town legends, Friday night high school football lights, and local outdoor festivals under the stars.”

Merrill says it was important for him to relay these experiences to his kids, but that he also hopes that a broader audience will have “all the good feels,” while reading the book and feeling pride about their small town. And if they are big city people? He hopes they will be intrigued enough to visit or vacation in a small town.
“If you haven’t had a fish fry or boil? If you haven’t danced to a local band and rode a Ferris wheel by the light of the moon? If you haven’t sat around a fire pit telling ghost stories, and looked up in amazement at the number of stars that are visible in the middle of nowhere? Then I want you to consider trying it out, and if it isn’t for you, at the very least you will have broadened your cultural competence.”
Cultural competence speaks to the book’s deeper goal of people’s attitudes surrounding diversity and “the other.”
“The story takes place in a town with very little representation in terms of racial and ethnic diversity, and no real perceived diversity in sexual and gender identity,” says Merrill. “This reality definitely impacts the character attitudes and language choices. And there are different ways that diversity is visible through age gaps, socioeconomic status, and homelessness, and these issues serve as areas of potential growth for the characters.”
The targeted age group for the book is 10-15 years old, but Merrill says there is something for everyone.
Small town or big city folks. Young and old. Whether you are looking for a fast-paced read filled with lots of banter, longing for small town and coming-of-age nostalgia, or interested in the cultural divide in this country, you will find it in, “The Cat House Tweens,” available at
LuLu Press and through distributors like Amazon.
Matthew J. Merrill will be appearing at a Meet The Author event at Rosalee Book Boutique (234 S. Spring Street, Beaver Dam, WI 53916) on June 14 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.