When Matthew Allan Lovelace was at sea with the Royal Australian Navy he would jump into bed of an evening, turn on his flashlight and put pen to paper.
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What started as an escape from the demands of his job has transformed into a book of poetry titled Your Little Poet – Heart and Soul from an Enlisted Man.
His unique style of writing is expressed through 106 pages of compelling thoughts on love and romance.
“I first began writing and posting my poetry on the internet, where I had more than 10,000 followers reading and posting encouraging reviews about my creative writings,” he said.
“Having a military lifestyle, I found it difficult most times to write due to the constant demand from the position I was in at the time.”
Whenever I had spare time I was always writing poetry and posting it on my blog for my readers to review and comment.
- Matthew Allan Lovelace
Mr Lovelace served on the warship HMAS Darwin as a gunnery sailor.
“My role was to fire weapons off ships – this position was very dangerous and demanding as I was expected to know my weapons and use all safety precautions when handling guns,” he said.
“The reason it was difficult to write poetry was because of the long hours and sometimes lack of sleep, but it did not stop me putting pen to paper.”
Mr Lovelace said writing gave him a sense of freedom away from his job.
“Whenever I had spare time I was always writing poetry and posting it on my blog for my readers to review and comment,” he said.
“It gives me a great sense of joy writing poetry unmatched by anything else – the words come very naturally to me and I find the English language a fascinating tool to string together in a poem.”
Connecting with his readers, is what compelled Mr Lovelace to keep publishing his work on the internet.
“On an interpersonal and somewhat inspirational level, I had connected with so many people with what I was writing I found this fascinating,” he said.
“They understood what I was experiencing because of love and writing to express this and they could relate to what I was expressing through poetry.
“I found that just about all of my readers could connect with what I was writing because they would post their feedback on my blog. It was satisfying when my readers would post a comment of “you are just what I needed this morning”.
Mr Lovelace grew up on the South Coast, where he lived until he joined the Navy.
“It's such an inspiring place with such beautiful beaches and a wonderful relaxed lifestyle,” he said.
“I grew up in Albion Park Rail and lived there until I was 24– I had a lot of fun as a child and made great friends at the beaches and school.
“I still call the Illawarra my home because of the many friends I have and love of the beaches.”
Already, Mr Lovelace is looking for his next challenge.
“My next project will be to write another poetry book – I'm looking for ideas and inspiration at the moment,” he said.
Your Little Poet – Heart and Soul from an Enlisted Man can be found at www.lulu.com