Young Adult / Coming of Age / Christian
Date Published: April 14, 2026
Publisher: Clay Bridges Press
When Jay finally seizes a moment of boldness with Nicole, he steps into new territory—only to discover her life is far more complicated than he ever imagined. Maybe he should just focus on basketball. Except Coach Mays seems blind to Jay’s potential, harping only on his flaws.
Caught between pressure, failure, and secrets no one talks about at Sunday school, Jay is forced to wrestle with deeper questions—about who he is, what he believes, and what it really means to be seen, to love, and to become someone worth noticing . . . no matter what.
What makes it unique:
This book provides a practical way for teens to engage with difficult questions and feel seen in the struggles they’re facing, while also being educational and presenting hard truths everyone will have to wrestle with. It helps the reader ask tough questions about who they are, who they want to be, where they want to go in life, and who they want to bring along on the journey.
The engaging characters and witty conversation pull in the reader and command attention and focus. This is not a story that will be read and quickly forgotten. Unlike generic "coming of age" books, No Matter What tackles the struggles of adolescence with taste and decency, allowing the reader to think and feel throughout the story without becoming unnecessarily uncomfortable or awkward.
Interview with Stephen Suffron
Author of No Matter What
Could you tell us about any research trips you took for this story? Which places did you visit, and what made them essential to your writing?
This book draws from my own high school memories, so I didn't travel anywhere except into my own past. The work was recalling my feelings and beliefs from those years and expressing them through Jay — drawing from real events in my life while adapting the facts to the story I wanted to tell. My dad still lives in that same town, though, and it was fun to go see some of the sites from the book, like the old Dairy Queen, and how some have remained unchanged while the town has changed drastically around them.
What's the strangest thing you've ever had to research online for your book?
One that stands out: I originally had a character use a Cold Stone Creamery coupon, until a proofreader pointed out that Cold Stone didn't reach Texas until the 2000s. It was actually Marble Slab Creamery in that area at that time — frustrating to have missed, since I had already been pretty careful about that kind of detail. I looked up what movies were playing in November 1993, verified the actual box score from that specific Astros game, and researched music, stores, and other period details to make sure everything matched not just the decade but the exact year and month.
What research (history, mythology, science) goes into your world-building?
My world-building was really about making 1993-94 feel authentic. I didn't rely on memory alone — I researched stores at the mall, songs that were popular at the time for the dance and player introduction scenes, and anything else that wasn't central to my own teenage world but that I still wanted to get right. Some details I was confident enough to leave to memory — the 59-cent Taco Bell menu, for example — but I wanted readers who lived through that era to smile at those “memory unlocked” moments and to immerse present-day teens in their parents’ world.
Have any of the people you've known, past or present, left a lasting impression on your writing journey? If so, we'd love to hear about a memorable experience that stands out to you.
My writing style is really my own, though I've been shaped and encouraged by many teachers and professors over the years. The push to share this story with a broader audience came from reading it aloud as I went along to the ladies in my office, Trudy and Debi. They wanted to know what happened next, so I had to keep writing! And once it was finished, they pushed me to explore getting it published. I probably never would have finished without them, and I certainly wouldn't have published without them.
Do you write in the same genre all the time?
No Matter What is actually a departure for me. I haven't written a lot of fiction, and when I have, it's mostly been short stories or monologues that get inside the heads of biblical figures. For this book, I decided to revisit a short story I wrote back in college — when the 1990s was contemporary — and build it into something that speaks to both teens and their parents.
If so, have you ever consider writing in another one?
I've actually started work on two other books. One tells the story of Paul's shipwreck from the end of Acts through the eyes of Julius, the centurion in charge of him. The other follows Jay McGee into his junior year of college, where he faces new questions about identity and purpose. So I'm keeping a foot in each genre.
Which character, supernatural or human, do you enjoy writing the most and why?
I love writing human characters wrestling with the bigger questions in ordinary circumstances. Jay was a joy to write for exactly that reason — he's not a kid who has it all figured out, but he's trying to do the right thing. His story isn't a prodigal or conversion story where he comes to faith and everything falls into place. Instead, he learns who he is and what love is, even through failure and disappointment.
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