Matthew Howe

I've been writing since I was a kid, though we were so poor I had to write my first short stories on the back of overdue notices from the bank using pencil stubs we stole from a nearby mini-golf course.

Okay, not true, except for the "writing since a kid," thing.

The filmmaking bug caught me in high school and I pushed myself in that direction for college and career. I've worked in the film industry in just about every position imaginable, though the photographic and lighting departments spoke to me the loudest.

I've shot a lot of documentary series for networks such as Discovery Channel and The History Channel. These gigs led to opportunities to actually write the shows. In addition I've written and sold dozens of feature screenplays. I even got into a niche business of writing screenplays for rich dudes who wanted to make a movie but didn't have the time (or ability) to write the scripts themselves. None of these have ever been made, which is too damned bad as they were pretty good.

But script writing is a lonely business. A finished script is a blueprint, it isn't something you can hand to your buddy to read, unless he's a fellow script writer. So I thought, why not try a novel?

Having had all sorts of adventures during my shooting career, I decided to try to incorporate some of the places I've been and some of the absolutely crazy shit I've done (check out my website mindofmatthowe.com) into a novel. The idea for it hit me like a frying pan to the face while I was walking the streets of Columbus, Ohio after a long day shooting a fertilizer commercial. That became "Waypoint."

Writing the book was one of the greatest pleasures of my life, and the response to it has been fantastic. I'm working hard on my follow up.