avg_rating: 3.71
name: Matts G. Djos
about: About the Author: Matts Djos was born in Seattle, Washington, the setting for much of the narrative. He married his wife, Jeanine (the template for Ginny), in 1959. Three years later, he graduated from the University of Washington with a secondary teaching certificate and a B.A. in English. He was awarded an M.A. in English from the University of Idaho in 1967 and a Ph.D. in English from Texas A&amp;M University in 1975.In the fall of 1975, after fourteen years as an English teacher in north Seattle, he accepted an invitation as an assistant professor of American Literature at what is now Colorado Mesa University. In 2006, after forty-five years as a scholar, writer, and teacher, he retired with honors as a professor of English, emeritus. Late About the Author: Matts Djos was born in Seattle, Washington, the setting for much of the narrative. He married his wife, Jeanine (the template for Ginny), in 1959. Three years later, he graduated from the University of Washington with a secondary teaching certificate and a B.A. in English. He was awarded an M.A. in English from the University of Idaho in 1967 and a Ph.D. in English from Texas A&amp;M University in 1975.In the fall of 1975, after fourteen years as an English teacher in north Seattle, he accepted an invitation as an assistant professor of American Literature at what is now Colorado Mesa University. In 2006, after forty-five years as a scholar, writer, and teacher, he retired with honors as a professor of English, emeritus. Later that year, he and Jeanine moved to an alpine paradise in the high country of western Colorado. Jeanine and Matts have three daughters and a bundle of grandchildren. They will be celebrated their fifty-fifth anniversary in 2014. Matts has published extensively, both as a scholar and as a freelance writer. He has written more than fifty scholarly, contracted, and freelance articles during the past twenty years alone. His book, Writing Under the Influence: Alcoholism and the Alcoholic Perception from Hemingway to Berryman (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2010) is nationally regarded as something of a breakthrough in the study of the connection between creativity and addiction. It has been the cornerstone of a number of graduate courses and papers, both in the States and abroad and is available in almost every graduate library in both the States and UK . His nautical books, Sailing Out of Retirement, Fixing Positions, and The Sacrament of Sail, have been singled out for special recognition and editorial praise among the major, international sailing magazines. His editors at Sail, Cruising World, Sailing, Natique, and 48 North have said they will be happy to provide recommendations. The alcoholic references in Secrets are based on Matts’ professional knowledge of addiction and his personal experience. The novel is the first in a trilogy about love, addiction, and marriage in the second half of the Twentieth Century.  Matts continues to teach classes on writing from time to time and has been a presenter at numerous literary and writing forums and workshops.  -------------------------- ...more