In the years that followed, Matthew willed himself to grow to a tremendous height (6’8”) and embarked on an awkward adolescence that lasted until the age of 22. He played basketball at Rochester College in Michigan, where he excelled at blocking shots and sitting perfectly still on the bench.  Despite not having a high school diploma or a GED (a long story), he then successfully completed an MS at the University of Alabama while hoping that Jesus would return before he was forced to choose a career. 
 

Thus his unpaid assault on the literary world began. Matthew self-published 3 books, of which no one outside of his extended family read.