I don't remember the first story I wrote, but it would have been in grade school. I do remember the first by-line I received as a freshman in college. A journalism 101 class required us to cover an event or meeting, and I was real interested in a talk given by a biology professor who had spent thirty years trying to figure out how to grow morel mushrooms commercially. I interviewed him and wrote up a story and submitted it to the news editor at CM Life.
That editor was Neil Hopp, an upperclassman at the time, and he ran the story with my by-line on it, something that just wasn't done in those days for freshmen. Years later, after a stint in the Navy and more college, I graduated from college and went to work in the newspaper field. After one year I landed a sports editor position with none other than Neil Hopp, then the managing editor in Carlisle, PA. He always supported my work.

I start with a thread of an idea for a book, and then I draft an outline of events that could become the plot and conclusion. I then write profiles of the main characters I know will be in the story. If the story requires it, I then do research, such as the research on how mechanical farming replaced horses and mules in the Pacific Northwest for "Acorn." For "Sea Change," I interviewed a Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue Expert.

All this work precedes the "It was a dark and stormy night" moment when I open the manuscript.

I never discuss stories with anyone before they're finished. I create in the morning, exercise or take care of life maintenance, and then edit in the afternoon.

I believe character development is vital to mystery stories, and I put so much effort into that part of the equation that often the plot line and story line end up nothing like the outline I started with as I put characters into situations and then they react the way I built them and that's not always the way I wanted them to react.

It's a weird sensation to find your characters writing the story, believe me.

My mother was an invalid most of my life, and as a kindergartner she would send me to the library with a note to the librarian. The librarian would locate the books my mom wanted and put a story she thought appropriate for me in the bag as well.

The first book that made a real impact on me was "God Is My Co-pilot." Later, "Catcher in The Rye" taught me not to judge a book by its title or cover.

In my newspaper career, I was taught the story-telling value of photography in the presentation of the words. I made finding outstanding photographers and graphic artists and giving them only the barest of my thoughts as to what the final product would look like. I do the same thing today with the artists who have made my covers. I send them the synopsis of the book, and some minimal thoughts, and they do the rest. Andrew Campbell an artist who lives in Ireland, did my first two covers. He is out of the game right now, so I found Judy Bullard from California to do the "Sea Change" cover. I found both to be responsive, fast and creative.

I can't do a top five list. Here's a smattering of the books and authors I like: Catch 22, Breakfast of Champions, The House of Seven Gables, anything written by John D. MacDonald, The Poet and other stories by Michael Connelly, Day of the Jackal, Seven Days in May, First Deadly Sin, Manchurian Candidate, Charlotte's Web (and Elements of Style, both featuring the wit and wisdom of E.B. White) and The Aleph, a book of short stories by Borges. My list goes on and on, and I've intentionally left the classics I had to read for schools even though I loved many of them.

We share some interests -- hunting, fishing, foraging -- and we are both retired community journalists but beyond that not much. I don't carry a handgun and can't imagine I ever would; he's tall and lean and I'm anything but and always have been. He's simply a "perfect" guy with foibles. Everything else is superficial, and I think that pretty much describes us all.

I've only used a Kindle, but I have friends who love their Apple or Nook devices, and I think all of us who favor one over another will make that decision based on our personal taste.

I've read Mark Coker's guide to e-book marketing, and I'm still stuck on tip number one, "Write a great book" and on tip number two, "Write another great book." As a newspaper professional marketing is not a foreign concept for me, but right now I'm experimenting with what can be accomplished using the limited financial resources at my disposal.

It's a solid oak desk approximately five fee wide and three feet deep, that was rescued from an abandoned press room manager's office, complete with decades of printer's ink to prove it. It houses a computer, keyboard, printer and aquarium that has never held water. You cannot contemplate how much the paper stacked on it might weigh. It gets cleaned and reorganized after publication of a book.

Rural Michigan. When I was a youngster hanging out went without notice because I was "hanging out" on the bayou of the Flat River which was adjacent to my house. I read "Old Man and the Boy" by Robert Ruark when I was the boy's age and got to experience what he experienced right there in Greenville, Michigan.

Sea Change is the final entry in a trilogy. The story behind this is the continuation of the story behind The Next Cool Place and Acorn. I think if a reader were to read all three, this question would be answered quite plainly. The next time I write about Jim Stanton, it'll be a prequel. I'm done with the retired hero.

My inability to crack the traditional agent-publishing house path to publication. I read about the rising quality of independent publishing that was removing the stigma of being self-published as "vanity books." If you look at the most successful books on the front page of any e-book outlet and you'll see that mystery stories about retired old men apparently written by a retired old man are scarce. I need to tell stories. After leaving the newspaper industry, I found that need intensify. Indie publishing slakes that particular jones and when people read the stories and enjoy them, I get a real rush.

If I ever get to the point where I'm actually considering what I do a "success" (as in my revenues could match or exceed my expenses) I would owe it all to Smashwords.

Knowing that people are reading my work and feeling compelled to review it. I haven't had a "bad" review, but if that person read and thought critically about my work and didn't enjoy the process, then I'd be happy with that result. I believe the only reason anyone "sits down to a keyboard and opens a vein" does it to be read.

It's a Jim Stanton prequel. The working title is "Song of suzies" and that is not a misprint or typo. I won't discuss it with others until it is published.