I enjoy reading lots of different authors in different genres. Some of my favorites are Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, David McCullough, Erik Larson, Harlan Coben, Craig Johnson, James Rollins and Dean Koontz.

If I don't get out of bed, my son certainly won't get up on his own to go to school. Besides, I've always been a morning person. It's not too difficult for me to get up each morning.

I love taking long bike rides and just exploring the back roads of my county. I like to read and go to movies, too. I also work with my son's Boy Scout troop.

Most of my ebooks are from authors whom I regularly read. New authors catch my attention a variety of way. Sometimes a friend will mention an author or I'll see a recommendation on a web site, along the lines of "People who bought this book, also bought these books." Sometimes I will browse through books on Goodreads and see which ones have stories that catch my attention.

It was a short story called "Mickey's Dream." I dictated it to my kindergarten teacher and she typed it up. Then I illustrated it. I still have it. I use it often when I give talks about writing.

I have no problem designing my book cover if I have a strong idea for what I want. Otherwise, I have a couple designers that I use. I will talk over any ideas or thoughts that I have for the cover with the designer. She will prepare a couple rough sketches based on my thoughts and her own ideas. From there, we'll find the right one and she'll prepare the cover.

Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon is an odd coming-of-age story that combines horror, fantasy, mystery and drama. I read it again and again and always enjoy it.

1776 by David McCullough is the history book that showed me that non-fiction history can be just as fascinating as fiction.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan is the book that got me hooked on epic fantasy. I loved all of the different cultures that Jordan created, each with backstories, traditions, languages and different uses for magic.

These are the top 3. There are numerous ones that I enjoy that I can't pick the other two.

I read mystery, thrillers, young adult, and fantasy for pure enjoyment. I read historical fiction and non-fiction history not only for enjoyment but also to learn something new.

Currently, I use a Kindle Fire. The feature that I particularly like is the text-to-speech function. I plug my Kindle into my car stereo or carry it with me when I go bike riding so that I can have my book read to me.

Right now, the most-effective marketing technique for me is to participate in arts and crafts festivals. I'm usually the only or one of the few authors at the festival so I'm offering something unique. I usually do really well at them. Second best would be giving talks and presentations and selling books afterwards.

Not big enough. It's usually pretty messy. I have files and piles of research on one side. I keep a couple books about marketing on the back end and one of my favorite sculptures (a robot made of pieces of scrap metal by Don Rea).

I also have a treadmill desk next to my traditional desk. I still have trouble using it for everything, but I do use it to give my back side a break from sitting too much.