Fr. Matthew Penney’s dreams of being a writer began with a question to his father at age 12: “Can I be a priest and a writer?” And thus his journey began. Half Newfoundlander himself, it was his personal experiences of ‘The Rock’ that inspired the story. He is an Orthodox priest in the Canadian diocese of ROCOR, and along with his Matushka Catherine, resides in New Brunswick, Canada. In the fall of 2014, he will begin a PhD in Education.