I grew up outside of a sleepy little town in the piedmont region of North Carolina. Growing up in such a rural area, there was never much to do except get out into the woods behind the house and discover new worlds. I can remember going out hiking with my dad on several occasions and coming across a new kind of animal every time. I enjoyed every minute of those hikes, and when I write a story, I try to imagine myself on one of those journeys. There is always something new to discover hidden somewhere deep within one's own imagination.

In 2009 on a trip to Key West with my wife, I took along a notebook and pencil. I had no idea where to start a story, where to end a story, or what even constituted a good story. I probably still don't ; ) All I knew is that I wanted to put a story together. During that vacation, I handwrote 25 pages, visited all the sites on the island, and drank rum to celebrate. Jack Sparrow would be proud.

What other kind of author is there :)

The first full length novel that I can remember reading was "Tom Sawyer", and I have always loved the way Mark Twain could make such unlikely heroes from everyday individuals.

J.R.R. Tolkien, L.A. Graf, Christopher Golden (love those Hellboy books), and Terry Brooks.

Bills.

Star Trek (Kirk and Spock), the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, X-Files (yep, I have the same name as the series creator, but no relation).

Covered with crap :)

I'm working on another series of Crush and Pound stories. Hopefully the heroes come out of this next series fine. But who knows?

Drawing covers is fun for me. I've drawn since I was in middle school, so it's something that I really enjoy doing. For a cover, I try to imagine what I would like to see, what would really make me want to open a book, and I go from there.

Lord of the Rings (awesome story from beginning to end).
The Hobbit (who doesn't like a hobbit?).
The Count of Monte Cristo (kings to you).
Treasure Island (the bad guy is not such a bad guy, after all, hmm?).
Hellboy - Bones of Giants (come on, Hellboy with Thor's hammer! 'Nuff said!!).

Monte Python and the Holy Grail (we are the knights who say NEE!).

The Dark Phoenix saga by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. I can remember reading the issue with Wolverine fighting his way through the Hellfire Club, and I was hooked.