The answer is twofold. For fiction, I enjoy writing to unleash my imagination and share a world with others full of action and excitement. For my non-fiction works, I love to help and teach others.

My fans are the reason I took up professional writing in the first place. I wrote as an amateur for awhile and thousand of people read my stories and enjoyed them. My fans ultimately convinced me to try self-publishing, and become a professional writer. They have pushed me to excel as a writer, and I am grateful for all of them.

I have two more novels in the 'A Joe Anderson Novel' series started. I have two more stand-alone novels that are about a fifth completed, and a ton of how-to non-fiction books slated on the schedule. I will be rapidly increasing the 'A Wilderness Survival Topic' series as I find time.

I will also be including more of my current books here at Smashwords as their contractual obligations elsewhere which prevent me from publishing them here expire.

I have always been partial to science fiction. Such names as Heinlein, Asimov, Niven, Pohl, Frank, and Norton have held a place in both my heart and my personal collection. I have read multiple thousands of titles from hundreds of authors, but I think Heinlein rates as number one on the list.

I love the outdoors. I like to spend my free time there when possible, fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, practicing wilderness survival skills, and of all things stargazing.

Usually I find them using a search function, or by browsing through the categories that interest me.

The first story I ever wrote was in high school. It was atrocious even by my standards.

I have experimented with several techniques, but finally had to develop a hybrid that works for me. Ultimately, I think that is true for most every author. I set down and combine free writing with continual editing. My first book was written using the standard model, and I found that the errors are so voluminous afterwards that they are almost impossible to weed out completely.

I let the story write itself and I keep that mental garden weeded as I go. Using this process, few weeds need removal at the end.

No. I have read so many books and novels over time that they have become a blur in my memory. I do remember ONE of the early books that still stands out, and that was "Farmer in the Sky" by Heinlein. It made me want to visit another world, and fired my imagination, further fueling my need to read.

Cover design is a serious issue. It is the first thing a prospective customer sees, and it has as much importance as the blurb in book sales. I use a program called ChasysDraw IES, which is as powerful as photoshop to create covers. Occasionally, I buy artwork to use for my covers. I am after the perfect cover for a given story. I want the cover to catch the eye and hold the attention, as well as make the person viewing it curious.

Each book, series, and genre has it's own look which has to be appropriate. For a newbie wanting to publish, I cannot stress enough that a cover must be at least equal in quality as the story and writing inside the book.

I first started writing novels almost by accident. I had read numerous high quality amateur works published on a fiction forum to which I belonged, and one day I thought "maybe I could do this." I wanted to share if possible, so I tried my hand at writing a story.

Surprising to me, the story didn't suck.

People read and loved my stories, the first of which is now available here as "Surviving in America: Under Siege." When I finished writing the story, I had not realized at the time that I had written a full-fledged novel.

My latest story is Meet Bill, which is a short story based upon a classic sci-fi theme -- mankind goes out to the stars, meets hostile aliens, and war ensues. Can mankind prevail?

I have always wanted to write a classic space opera, and now I have started the process with the first book in an action-packed serial. I hired out the artwork for the cover, and aim to please my fans with many new books as exciting as this one was. A serial of short stories is perfect for those times when my brain needs a break from writing novels or how-to informative books.