I am currently working on a collection of short horror stories.

Oh man, that's a tough one, There are so many! I am actually a huge Jane Austen fan. And of course, Stephen King, particularly his Bachman books. I recently read The Passage by Justin Cronin and highly recommend that one to everyone I meet in bookstores. As a kid and as an adult I still enjoy R.L. Stine.

Probably my coffee pot. Also, I have a couple of kids who appreciate it when I feed them.

Thinking about writing! And reading. I always have a novel or three around that I am in the middle of reading. I also spend a lot of time introducing my kids to what I consider "classics" like Creepshow and Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Last Unicorn, and old Weezer albums.

Mostly from my Nook Shop.

The first story I remember writing was in third grade about a girl whose nightmares kept seeping into her real life. I think my mother still has it. It was actually my first attempt at a novel.

I've learned to write when the inspiration hits me. Sometimes it's only one sentence or a quirky character trait. I've also learned to really get to know my characters. Even if I don't use the information in the story itself, I know my characters right down to the brand of toothpaste they use. I like to let the story come from a very authentic place, trying to force it, even when I am in love with a certain sentence or image, is never a good idea. I believe each story knows exactly how it wants to be written and you need to listen to that.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, and everything by Roald Dahl, Mostly because I am fascinated by the imagination of children. Pretty much everything by Stephen King but mostly The Gunslinger. I love the straight talk feel of the writing and it really comes across that he had a kick ass time writing it. I also love The Post Office by Charles Bukowski for the same reasons I love The Gunslinger because of the language and because they both made me want to write my own books. Lastly, again I have to give props to Justin Cronin for The Passage. It is hands down the best book I have read in the last decade.

I will admit here that I actually read a lot of "chick lit" like the Stephanie Plum novels and Shopaholic novels. They are just fun and a nice reprieve from the heavier, darker stuff that I read. I also read a lot of horror mags.

Because I have been mostly "homeless" for the last couple of years, and at the very least "nomadic" for the last decade or so, I don't really have a desk. I keep several writing journals and notebook on hand at all times. I never go anywhere without a notebook. Inspiration strikes anywhere and you've gotta be ready.

I grew up in a very small town on the coast of Washington. A very Goonies like setting. In fact they filmed that movie a few miles from my hometown. I played in the woods a lot as a child and my siblings and I had very active imaginations to make up for a lack of cable television (you couldn't even get tv there at the time). I feel like my childhood was a great breeding ground for my writing today, in fact, I revisit a lot of my childhood in my writing now.