Dean Matthews

About Dean Matthews

Born on a farm just outside Oxford, England, in 1961, my families’ strong links to the land meant that I grew up with an inbred love of the countryside. I was never happier than when I was helping my father feed the animals, playing in the woods or besides a river, defeating imaginary goblins, ghouls and bandits. However, it wasn’t too last, and my family found themselves having to move into the city.

Despite this, my love of fantasy and adventure continued and blossomed, when my English tutor over a series of days read to my class, ‘The Hobbit,’ this inspired me to read more fantasy books.

Whilst at school, I excelled in many sports as well as art, geography, history and story writing in English, and began writing my own short stories, helping me develop a real passion for fantasy fiction, that has continued throughout my life, and inspired me to read many books of this genre.

Unlike the majority of my friends, who were really attentive at school and had firm plans for the future, (much to my annoyance), when I left school, I didn’t know which direction I was heading, and without any direction, I decided to join the Navy. However, deciding that discipline wasn’t for me, at the age of seventeen, I discovered motorbikes and girls, (in that order), and over the years, I extensively explored the British countryside from Lands’ End to John O’ Groats. While travelling, which included time working in Australia, and Germany, I had the opportunity to discover new landscapes, and varied cultures all of which have inspired my writing.

Over the years I worked in a myriad of profession’s, including furniture removal, scaffolding and the odd gardening job; I even worked at British Leyland for a year, (it was all I could tolerate as it really tested my over active imagination). This meant I could turn my hand to almost anything and have never been out of work.

In my late twenties I moved to Devon, and rejuvenated and with a young family to support, I trained in tree surgery, stone walling and hedge laying which greatly enhanced my gardening work. Becoming self-employed meant that I could satisfy my love of the outdoors and become my own man, and using all of my new skills I went into business on my own.

But always, in the back of my mind was a passion for writing that never left me, and whilst in my thirties, I began to write short stories in my spare time on bought and borrowed second hand typewriters, I even plucked up the courage to join a martial arts club, and learned to ski. However, it wasn’t until I was in my forties that I decided, instead of writing short stories, I would fully indulge in my passion and write professionally, proving the old adage that it really is, never too late…

Dean Matthews's Bibliography

THE FOUNDATION STONE SERIES

The Dark Taal (2021)

The Shadow and the Shards (2022)

Prophesy and Allegiance (2022)