Matthew Wroe

I live in the countryside surrounded by farmers’ fields in Staffordshire with my wife Kelly and our two cheeky boys. We are very lucky to have a garden teeming with wildlife and fields around us to explore. I love my boys dearly and they are one of the reasons why I started writing, I never really had a father figure in my life and why I want to be everything to my boys that I longed for as a child.

When I was growing up I really struggled in school and found it hard to fit in, at 25 I found out I was dyslexic and reflecting on my time in education I was able to understand why I struggled in school. It was not that I was unintelligent, it was the format I was being taught which did not suit my mind, and once I understood this I went back into education to become a chartered accountant and since then I have gained my fellowship in accounting.

Before writing my free time was made up of training for endurance events to raise money for charity, while I am lucky in life, others are not so lucky and why I wanted to help people. First fundraising event consisted of contacting companies for gifts to give as prizes at a charity event to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. Next I cycled from Alton Towers Resort to the Eiffel Tower and back (859 miles) to raise money for Merlin’s Magic Wand Children’s Charity.

I then had a break from fundraising the year my wife and I were married however the following year I completed in the UK Ironman, (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and a 26 mile run), which was followed 3 weeks later by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, both events were to raise money for Scope that helps disabled people and somewhere I use to volunteer as a teenager. The following year I had my first born son Caius and took a break from fundraising for two years.

My first event back to raise money for charity was an ultramarathon, (100km) from Eastbourne to Arundel across the south coast of England. I found training extremely hard as I did not want my training to impact time with my son and wife, this meant getting up at 5am to go and run a marathon distance before they woke. I raised money for the Alzheimer’s society due to my mother being diagnosed at the time.

I then had a three year break from fundraising as my wife and I had our second child Roman-Leo and the year after I went back to university to gain an MBA with distinction. The longer I went through life understanding my dyslexia the more I got into books and while reading to my son I decided that I would like to see if I could write a children’s book and raise money for charity. My boys are my biggest focus and why I have not had the time to train for a fundraising event, by writing a book I could involve my boys and hopefully help vulnerable children in the process.

Writing is a hobby and a way for me to hopefully help others, I am a full time accountant, who works for JCB and very lucky to occasionally drive diggers which helped inspire my story. Previously I worked for Alton Towers and was also very lucky to be able to try out the food, rides and hotels. I have a keen love of music and music has been an influencing factor in my writing style as my books are written in verse.

I am quite adventurous and like doing things outdoors. I was on my bike a lot when growing up, going on adventures, imagining I was in magical places. I love travelling and have been all over the world, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia, some on my own and some with my wife. My favourite places are Brazil, (Rio and Iguassu Falls), Australia, (diving the Great Barrier Reef and skydiving over the rainforest in Cairns), backpacking Thailand, Egypt, (Pyramids and tombs, I love their history), Iceland seeing the northern lights and backpacking across Europe seeing so many beautiful places. Travelling really opens my mind and I spend more of my money on experiences than acquiring possessions, as possessions become obsolete, break and never really last while experiences are with you forever.

I love walking and going on adventures with my family, plus going in our gym with the boys as they have their own climbing wall and gym activities that we can play and train together, keeping my body active in the gym is important as I sit behind a desk most the day. Most evenings, we sit down as a family and watch television, while sometimes we go out for food or to the cinema to watch a film.

My bucket list still consists of the following…..

To dive with manta rays and whales, hike Machu Picchu, visit the amazon rainforest, climb Mount Everest, row the English Channel and cycle across America.

Be kind and help others and Carpe Diem are two foundations of my soul, thank you for reading.

Please visit www.thelittleyellowdigger.com for more information