Introductions Please! (with M.J. Elliott)

By Matthew J. Elliott

The Family

I am sure you are wondering... Why is this post up today? Doesn't he post on the 1st of every month? Well, yes, I do, but today is different from my normal posts. In truth, I was given the opportunity to fill in for someone else and thought it would be a great way to share more about myself. So, this post is all about who I am, where I came from, and why I do what I do.

My name is Matthew James Elliott (M.J. Elliott) and my wife Traci and I live in Northern Oklahoma with our three children. We have been together since 2010 and oddly enough, we both consider ourselves writers. Both of us have degrees from OkWU in some kind of ministry, and enjoy long walks, restful vacations, and spending time with our family, of course.

My Inspirational Mother

As a child, writing was insanely difficult for me because I have visual dyslexia, ADHD, and a short attention span, 😉. So making the time to sit down and write something down was more challenging than learning how to drive. Through the encouragement from my late mother, who always dreamed I would become a writer, I could find a way to overcome my struggles and write down words. While it was, and still is, difficult to break through writing block walls and a severe lack of self-confidence, I continued to write devotionals and church curriculums until 2017.

At this point, I took an extended vacation from writing so I could work through some personal struggles and also so I could actually provide for my growing family. In May of 2023, something drastic changed. My imagination began to soar into some unexpected places in the Bible, and thus, I became a Biblical Historical Fiction Writer and I am forever drawn to it. One of the most important lessons I have learned through everything is the value of imagination, and how using it can link the past and the future to the present in more ways than one. What about you though? Where are you from and what are some lessons you have learned in life?

~ Highlighted Release ~

The Cyprus Journal is Coming Soon! May 5th, 2024!

One Young Man. His Significant Story. A Witness of the Early Church.

Many knew him as the young cousin to Barnabas the Encourager, the son of Mary who offered her home to honor the Savior and those who followed Him, or even the man who abandoned Paul on his First Missionary Journey, but there is more to his story. His story is one of new beginnings, a promise fulfilled, and a man who overcame fear of the unknown.