After a childhood of hating to answer the phone, it was Matthew Aye’s first job in adulthood as a call center employee that made him realize he was spending far too much time in the real world. He’d always had a passion for stories – novels about heroic bands of merry men, movies about mystical swords, series about being lost in space, or shrines built to honor the power a legend once held over a people.
His first venture into writing was piece of hard hitting Brave Little Toaster Fan fiction. Next Matthew Aye submitted a harrowing original tale about a boy climbing a bean stalk to a land of giants to Walt Disney himself with the grand prize of having the best story submitted turned into its own movie. Matthew Aye’s inquiry was returned with a very polite thank you and a pen with a floating ship inside it.
Still, the flame had been lit. He spent many of the following years working on an unpublished Homer-esq epic based on Greek mythology. In junior high, Matthew Aye won a writing competition for his (finally mostly) original tale about an albino bus driver, who was also a World War II hero, that befriends a boy on his bus. The resulting prize was a $20 gift card and represented the first time Matthew Aye received payment for his writing.
In college at the University of Illinois where he studied English and Communication, Matthew Aye entered a 5-minute play writing competition with a friend. The subject of their play? The genre busting, gut bursting tale of two friends that write a play to enter a 5-minute play writing competition. Their composition was selected and performed for two nights in front of hundreds of adoring fans. Matthew Aye purchased his own ticket to attend the productions.
Currently, Matthew Aye is working on multiple new works including a series of tales about a grandma assassin, Falling Up – a story of a world where gravity no longer exists, and Star Board – a story where teenagers are selected to champion the world after Earth is conquered by aliens.
In contrast to the characters he creates, Matthew Aye’s own life has been rather un-magical. He has re-learned to walk at least 5 times, he once lost a championship basketball game by stepping on the out of bounds line, and can do at least three tricks on a yo-yo, including how to wind the string back up.
Born and raised outside of Chicago, Matthew Aye lives in Virginia. His friends typically call him Matt, but his parents prefer Matthew. The choice is yours. Contact him for more information on anything thing from his current projects to tips on rolling up your own yo-yo.