Michele Rene’ Matthews
Everyone has that teacher that inspires. For me, it was Mrs. Strange. She was my eleventh or twelth grade Honors English and Creative Writing teacher. She had enough faith in me to get me a job writing a Sunday column about the High School for the local newspaper. For Michele, it was her fifth grade teacher, Ms. Middleton.
When Ms. Middleton read her story about The Chocolate Mountain to the class, that sparked a love and passion for writing. Michele felt like a “queen for a day!”
Growing up in a home in New London, Connecticut with seven other children probably presented constant material and inspiration for her stories and journal entries. At the age of sixteen, Michele began to keep a journal and has maintained those journals every since.
In early 2001, she completed her novel, Raymond’s Daughters and began to shop for a publisher. She obtained an agent and began sending queries to various publishing houses, however she realized that no one was as committed to her book as she was. So in September 2004 she released Raymond’s Daughters through self-publication.
When asked what her writing inspiration is, she responds “Events from my own life.”
Living in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Michele is a Contract Manager for a company that provides Special Operations Equipment to the military. And while her writing is her passion, it doesn’t pay the bills.
When we are devoted and passionate about a “thing” we usually make time for it. When Michele was working on Raymond’s Daughters, she actually woke up at 4:30 a.m. to write while her kids were still sleeping and the house was quiet. Not too many folks have the discipline to wake up so early.
After seeing her baby, Raymond’s Daughters on the shelves, she started work on a book of essays and poems that she plans to publish entitled Confessions of Beautiful Woman. And beautiful she is.
Some of you may be wondering how I found Michele. Michele actually maintains a blog, which she calls “Full House For Now.” When asked how she started blogging, she didn’t really know why, but she added “I’ve been journaling since I was 16 years old. In this day and time I find it easier to type my thoughts on a keyboard instead of handwriting them in my journal.”
Blogging has actually become a hobby for many people. Some initially started blogging to get their thoughts out on paper; others started as a therapeutic measure; and some actually blog for the exercise of writing. When I asked Michele who some of her favorite bloggers were, she listed: There are a few blogs that I read daily: Serenity23 and BDW are very insightful; The Humanity Critic and Brotha Buck keep me laughing, The Serial Dater gives me an inside peek into the life of a divorced man’s dating adventures and I get all the entertainment scoop from Princess Dominique. There are many others that are listed on my blog, Full House For Now.
And lastly, any advice for aspiring writers?
“Keep writing. You found me through blogging and I’m grateful for that. It just goes to show you that the world isn’t really as big as we think it is. I had no idea that there were so many people out there that shared my interests, ideas, fears and joys. It’s a comfort.”
In addition to Michele’s publication of Raymond’s Daughters, she is also a contributor for My Soul to His Spirit.
If you would like more information on Raymond’s Daughters or if you’d like to purchase the book, visit this site
