Hey There!
I am Matthew, founder of the Breakfast Gravy website. I have been writing off and on for many moons; often simple scribbles, notes on napkins, pages in journals, and piles of thoughts and ideas written in haste on scraps of paper. This website is a collection of those thoughts and ideas manifested into short stories born from old inspiration and new.
I would like to give you a peek into my background and from where I draw inspiration.
Creation Story : Then There was Me
I was born 6 months after my parents wedding anniversary in the early 70’s… wink, wink. Lots of stuff happened and then I attended high school. My freshman year I had an English teacher who not only allowed but actively encouraged a kind of reckless abandon in creative writing. Each week she would read select stories from our submitted assignments, which were usually no more than two or three hand written pages, and mine were almost always read, to the delight of my classmates. Without fail my stories elicited chuckles and giggles and outright guffaws. As long as there was no vulgarity Teach gave us wide license to explore creative boundaries. I loved writing these stories and despite some social anxiety, also loved hearing them read aloud in class.
Fast forward to college application time and for a reason I cannot quite explain I entered an engineering program as opposed to journalism or some other writing related field. I sputtered and failed out of engineering school, but did graduate with a degree in Economics, yawn.
Where am I Now? Right Here
Thirty years later and a career as a firefighter for a major metropolis wrapped up in retirement I found myself thinking about all those stories I wrote. Along the way I have written many ideas for books, stories, screenplays and characters. With a creative partner I did indeed self-publish a children’s book on Amazon. I have started a screenplay and a young adult novel, both of which languish in an unfinished state. I may one day continue with one or more of those projects but as I pondered what to do with my newfound free time upon retirement I kept coming back to those freshman year short stories. Why not write more of those things I loved so much? Why not indeed? So here we are at Breakfast Gravy, writing stories to entertain and coax a laugh or smile out of you, the reader.
What Drives Me and Where the Hell are We Going?
Some of my writing heroes include Stephen King, David Baldacci, Mr. Hemingway, and Dave Barry to name a few. The posts here will contain fictional stories that draw inspiration in from Dave Barry and a satirical news publication called The Onion.
Dave Barry, for those not in the know, wrote a column that was syndicated in newspapers across the country and my Mother and I would read his column each and every Sunday and then discuss and laugh about it after. To this day it is one of my favorite memories of time I shared with Mom. His stories were always great fun to read, filled with humor, and geared towards or about families. He has written several books as well which are wonderful but his weekly column holds a special place in me.
The Onion is a ridiculous publication filled with more ridiculous stories covering a plethora of topics and I have loved it since I first set eyes upon a paper copy. Its no holds barred content is one of a kind and needs to be consumed to be properly understood.
In a nutshell my stories will be a blend of these styles, hopefully a successful one that all can enjoy but you, reader, shall be the judge of that.
Thank you for being the one of one hundred that reads the About Me page!
Matthew Halligan
w. breakfastgravy.com
