Born and raised in the South, Matt has led an imaginative life. From an early age his artistic, creative, and academic abilities were apparent, leading him to creative writing classes as early as age 11. By the time he was 16, he had created his first story as well as drawn the characters that populated that world. Soon additional stories began to fill his head, the first of which to emerge was 'Spirit'. The book was a product of two great influences in his life: science fiction and the Word of God. The story quickly grew into a fully fledged novel and over the course of six years he molded it into what it is today. It would be his first published work. "As a self-professed nerd I just really enjoyed working on 'Spirit'. It was as much fun to read it as it was to work on it. Mostly I was just along for the ride!"