I grew up in a small town in Upstate New York where everyone knew one another. I had a relative on just about every block, and I made friends in grade school I still have today. My friends and family definitely influence my writing. They've made me the man and writer I am today.

Usually look for stories similar to those from my favorite authors. There are always lists to find online.

Yes. It was a short story entitled It Took a Train Ride to See. My aunt has the only copy.

I do my best work with deadlines. I'll even ask someone to assign me one because it focuses me. I write like a fiend when I have a goal. Without one I tend to succumb to creative A.D.D. There are simply too many distractions. Once I get into a story, I tend to write along the lines of Kurt Vonnegut because I try to make a page perfect before moving on. That's another reason a deadline helps me tremendously. It forces me to push through the story and go back to fix things in the rewrite.

I used to read a lot of the Hardy Boys when I was younger. Judy Blume was one of my favorites too. I loved the humor in the Blume books, but the first book to truly impact me was Stephen King's IT. I loved everything about it. It featured an amazing antagonist. Then it went on to feature just about every classic monster at the time. I adore that book!

I love great horror, a ton of young adult stuff, and anything with a great honest protagonist. Some of my favorite authors are Bukowski, Chbosky, Nersesian, Selby Jr. King, Bradbury, Rowlings, and Orson Scott Card.

Anything I can get my hands on. I look to read as many different authors as I can because I think it's one of the few ways to improve as a writer. Also, you can't know what books are great without reading them all.

Ipad because it's not just an e-reader.

I grew up in a small town in Upstate New York where everyone knew one another. I had a relative on just about every block, and I made friends in grade school I still have today. My friends and family definitely influence my writing. They've made me the man and writer I am today.