I've worn many hats in my lifetime.
I've worn many hats in my lifetime.
I mean, just look at them. I got my husband into a hat...and our kids. I even got the dog to try one on for size.
Play the hat game below to find out more about my adventures!
Embedded Files
Which hat am I wearing?
Take a guess, then click the question to find out!
Which hat am I wearing?
Take a guess, then click the question to find out!
Michigan Man
Show me that hand! (It's a Michigan thing.) I grew up in a small town called Ludington on the shores of Lake Michigan. It's where I entered my first writing contest in fifth grade. When I grew up, my mom sent me that story, and I read it to my children. It inspired me to start writing again as an adult.
My very first story in grade school also makes a cameo in my first LGBTQ+ sci fi novel (under development). I'll share more about that in an upcoming newsletter.
Which hat am I wearing?
Take a guess, then click the question to find out!
Which hat am I wearing?
Take a guess, then click the question to find out!
Scholar
Yes, I've worn one of those funny caps too. I taught Swedish at the University of Washington while I completed a PhD in Scandinavian Languages and Literature. Later in life, I went back to school for a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford.
My final writing project at Oxford, part of an LGBTQ+ YA novel called The Rules of Loneliness, was runner-up for the A. M. Heath Prize.
Which hat am I wearing?
Take a guess, then click the question to find out!
Which hat am I wearing?
Take a guess, then click the question to find out!
Spy
Shhhh!!!! Don't tell anyone. After grad school, I translated for the CIA for a while. I even went through three interviews to become a secret agent (no, really!). At the end of the third interview, they told me that I would have to lie to everyone in my life. I'm a terrible liar. I said no.
My kids told me that was the worst decision I ever made in my life. Their reaction inspired me to write my middle grade novel, The Spy Who Grounded Me, which was also a winner in the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices contest.
Which hat am I wearing?
Take a guess, then click the question to find out!
Which hat am I wearing?
Take a guess, then click the question to find out!
Wizard
Okay, okay. If you want to be picky about it, I wasn't a wizard. I was actually an employee at Wizards of the Coast. I managed teams around the world who created the content for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering in ten languages. I also did a little bit of work on the official Dungeons & Dragons foreign language glossaries.
Now does it make sense why I sometimes write fantasy books?
Stay tuned...the game continues.
Stay tuned...the game continues.
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© 2026 Matthew Olson-Roy. All rights reserved.
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