life serial
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Matthew Allard is an author, freelance writer, and Internet geek. Some of his stories were inspired by illustrations from Ian Dingman and made into a book called To Slow Down The Time.

This is his blog.

In honor of the new year, I’m cleaning out a few lingering ASK questions. Then we’ll start fresh. I try my best to get around to all questions at some point—in private or public—so please feel free to send a message.

Anonymous asked: Your Instagram pictures are always of the most beautiful places in Cali. How do you end up in these houses/areas?! I live in Michigan, and although it can be very pretty, I am still jealous of your scenery!

Thanks! My partner and I have family in Santa Barbara. It’s just a short drive outside of Los Angeles, and we’ve been heading up quite a bit lately. I’m amazingly lucky to get to spend any time there at all. We rang in 2012 at his parent’s house this past weekend, and I tried to take some pictures along the way. Instagram is great for that. My goal is to be a little selective with what I share there, trying weird angles and playing with framing. It’s not meant to be showy (I’m a little self-conscious about that actually), but I try to make it a nice catalog of interesting sights and experiences.

I’m also from Michigan!

Anonymous asked: I love your blog, very inspirational. I’m sure you’ve been asked several times, but what camera do you use? Thanks!

Thank you! I consider myself to be a very amateur photographer. I’m still learning the ropes. I just enjoy trying to get a good shot. I have a Canon EOS Rebel XTi and an iPhone 4s.

dystopian-utopia asked: What are some of your favourite books/stories?

Anything by David Leavitt, Raymond Carver, or Joe Meno. I’ve recently become a big fan of Adam Ross (and said so here). The Great Gatsby, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, and Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann are some other favorites.

rosiesway asked: When you close your eyes and think of the perfect place, what do you see?

This has been in my inbox for a very long time. I’ve struggled to come up with the perfect answer. Today I will say that place is in the mountains somewhere. It’s fall in that place. There are leaves and I have hot coffee. It’s morning. I have a secluded cabin with an old porch and a nice place to sit with a book. Then again, maybe it’s an old mansion in the English countryside. Everything is quiet, green, foggy. I’m sitting in a familiar armchair, in a study, by a fire.

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