Guest post by patio restorer and author, Craig Matthews

Craig wrote: 

I own a patio restoration business. I started it 3 years back. It allows me to eat all year long.

In Michigan I can only work on patios like this one (pic) on Lake Huron for about six months a year.

Then, when November comes I focus more on writing.

BUT…

I can easily fall into the trap of imposter syndrome during these months of sweating under the sun.

Or I can use the time to dream, develop characters, build worlds, advance the plots of stories that are under development.

I’ve written ideas on sandpaper, pieces of lumber, receipts, the inside of my trailer, and the notepad in my truck. I’ve taken pictures of maps I drew in the sand, on boxes, or lumber carved with a nail.

Just because you’re not a full time author does not mean that you’re not continually thinking, planning, and plotting new worlds. I may be reminding myself the stories I’ve been entrusted to tell – matter.

How do you overcome the negative aspects of your life in order to write?

#inspiration #amwriting #hope #thespiritualthriller #charitysfire

I “met” Craig on LinkedIn more than a year ago and checked out his Amazon page. I was drawn by both words in his historical novel, Immigrant Patriot. It was such an unbelievable story about his grandparents that I read more of his novels. By the time I got to Cameron Lost, I sensed that Craig is an author to follow. I also sensed God’s fingerprint in his stories.

Immigrant Patriot was my favorite book of 2023. Charity’s Fire, Craig’s latest, is in the running for favorite this year.

Once he mentioned he is writing a cookbook with his wife. I still have books nudging to get written, so I asked Craig how many he’s got cooking. Fourteen! His newest engrossing page-turner, Charity’s Fire, came out last month. (The Perfect Storm meets The Screwtape Letters in this one!)

The exciting sequel, Book 2 in the “What the Eye Beholds” Series” will be out later this year.

Now you have an inkling of how creativity shows up for novelists while they’re working on something else, or vacationing, or about anytime at all.

The cookbook? Watch for it next year!