Matt Whyman
- Name: Matt Whyman
- Lives: Sussex, UK
- Education: MA Creative Writing
- Works as: Author, agony uncle and magazine columnist, televison presenter and campaigner for health awareness
- Sporting achievements: Running the London Marathon
- Pets: 2 chickens called Maggie and Marge, a huge white German Shepherd called Sesi, 2 hamsters, a cat and several free range mice!
- Featured Title: Inside the Cage!
- Website: Click to here visit
- See all titles from Matt
Hamsters see a lot of love in this world. After our parents, furry family pets like this tend to be the first object of our affections. Why? Because they're simple creatures who look cute and enjoy a cuddle. In some ways, it's a shame that love doesn't remain this easy. Then again, if it didn't become so complex as we grow older then our lives would be very dull indeed.
As well as writing books, I deal with relationship problems in the agony pages of a teenage magazine. Every week I receive letters and emails from young people who are strung out about love. With Valentine's Day on the horizon, the problems simply pile up. From the dreaded prospect of asking someone out to the sadness and grief of being dumped (lads - stop doing it by text message!) you'd think that a romance is the last thing anyone needs. There's no doubt that it's a learning process, but as we learn to manage our feelings so our love lives become more rewarding.
In many ways, a good story can help us make sense of what's going on in our hearts and minds. In any good tale, characters have to form relationships for better or for worse. In sharing their ups and downs, it can make you realise that we all have feelings that aren't always easy to handle.
Of course, the other great thing about a good book is that there's no risk of being turned down when you show an interest. Your relationship can last for days, weeks or months, and when you reach the final page the pain of the break up can be eased by curling up with another book that takes your fancy. In short, whatever this Valentine's Day may bring you, a love of reading can last a lifetime.
Matt Whyman is the author of a number of acclaimed novels, including Boy Kills Man, The Wild and Inside The Cage. When he's not writing novels, Matt is also an honest and knowledgeable spokesperson on the important issues that are central to young people's lives.
He appears regularly on national radio and television and has worked as Agony Uncle for AOL and Bliss. Matt was also part of the award-winning team at TheSite.org, the UK's leading online information resource for young people. He has written numerous health awareness campaigns for, among others, Radio One, the Health Education Authority and Brook Advisory Centres. He has also written several popular advice books aimed particularly at boys, including the XY series and Unzipped.
A graduate from the University of East Anglia with an MA in Creative Writing, Matt has travelled widely as a writer, recently visiting Moscow, Saudi Arabia and Uganda. Married with three daughters, one son and a slightly mad dog, home is a village near the South Downs in Sussex!
