Ah, a difficult question to answer. Lately, my inspiration to rise comes from trying to make a better life for myself. That includes being a better employee at work, a better father at home, a better writer here, and above all, a better person in the world.

Cleaning up around the door yard, drawing, playing music, that sort of thing.

I haven't read many E-Books yet, but I would probably find them mainly through browsing.

I used to just sit down and type without a plan, which never ended well. Now, I plan in my head where I want the story to go, then make a point form summary of events, then write, add, edit, and repeat until I have it done.

I used to just sit down and type without a plan, which never ended well. Now, I plan in my head where I want the story to go, then make a point form summary of events, then write, add, edit, and repeat until I have it done.

More often than not, my desk is my lap. I sit back in a recliner and poke away at my keyboard.

I grew up in a house with a big field surrounded by fifty acres of trees. Most of my writing takes place, or at least partially, in forested areas or small towns.

I started writing fan fictions back in middle school, following in my sister's footsteps. I started writing my own original ideas when I was twelve or thirteen.

I have always wanted to reach an audience through some form of media, and I spent years working on different stories and figured I might as well let the world see them!

Well, it hasn't yet. I am really hoping that some day I will be able to change this answer.

I can say, though, that I would not be publishing at all if I didn't know about Smashwords because I am kind of a penny pincher, and I don't want to publish in paper if I wont be able to sell any books.

The greatest joy of writing for me is that from the moment I write down a single word, I have given birth to a living, breathing, growing idea and I never know what turn the story will make right in front of my eyes. The more time I spend nurturing that Idea, the stronger it grows. It creates a passion inside of me to see the story through to the end.

My next book will have a strong female lead character. It is going to be quite good, I think.

Not nessicarily the "first" story I read, but i do remember that the first book series I really got into was Kathryn Laskey's Guardians of Ga'Hoole.

It was actually kind of funny in retrospect, because I read it out of a phobic fascination with owls after I saw one attacking a pet cat on my doorstep.

That series was one of the first things that sparked my interest in writing, and my first fan-fiction story "Blood Birds" was an adaptation of the first book in her series.

For my first book, Sea of the Dead, I started with a self-made cover which was just a simple photograph with some Photoshop changes. Some of my earliest readers may have downloaded a version of the book with that cover design.

After that, I hired an artist out of the U.K. to re-design it, and then the same artist for the second book in the series. I designed the cover for Tower of Ashvale myself to save money on it's production.

In designing a cover, I try to think about what captures the essence of the story. The cover should reveal something of what is inside, yet give that sense of mystery that draws in readers.

First and foremost, the Christian Bible. Obviously the main reason is because of my personal faith, but along with that, there is a lot of deep metaphor and powerful scenes, like when Job has lost everything and he wishes he had never even been born. It's a feeling everyone has at least once in their life, and its reality trancends the meleniums between when it was written until the end of humanity.

Secondly, I would have to say Lord of the Flies. I like the thought process of "what would happen if a bunch of kids had to govern themselves?" It makes for some interesting story lines because people tend to get caught up in the moment so easily.

Third, probably Of Mice and Men. It gets into the questions of right and wrong, and is wrong still wrong if it's done in innocence.

Fourth, I would say the first book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. It was a childhood favorite and i still have the whole series on my bookshelf.

Lastly, Christopher Paolini's Eragon. His book inspired me to write my own fantasy book when I was fifteen, which was later adapted into my book Sea of the Dead.

It's hard to put favorites in any particular order. There's a certain value to all books that a person holds with a personal connection.