Not really, but I had really good English teachers from a young age so it was probably a story I did for one of those classes.

Usually from friends. Most of the people I know enjoy reading and have excellent taste in books, so I take their recommendations seriously. Of course, I have run into the occasional book I don't like, but when I consider the number of outstanding books I might not have discovered otherwise -- totally worth taking the chance.

I like my Kindle, but early on I used a PalmPilot and rediscovered my love of reading because of it. I was carrying the device for work and one day I chanced across some Mark Twain short stories that were published for the device. Because I had the device with me all the time, I suddenly could read anywhere -- and without carrying a book with me all the time. It convinced me that e-readers were going to cause a renaissance of sorts for busy people who suddenly had a new capability.

It is an L shaped affair, with a work table for one leg, and a piece of marble countertop atop two filing cabinets for the other. In the corner, where the two pieces meet, I have what I refer to as a "zoo". You know all those sets of super hero action figures that you only have one of (usually your favorite)? It consists of a bunch of those characters plus bits and pieces of other sets. In and amongst the figures are three lava lamps that provide a visual focal point to ponder things. Having the zoo available is handy, like when I need to visualize a scene with multiple people in it - I can build dioramas on the fly. On the worktable is my computer and monitor plus an Amazon Dot that I use for occasional entertainment and information. The marble top holds a desk lamp and provides open space where I can write things long hand or do other work for which I need space. (You can see a pix of the zoo here: https://goo.gl/wVj1Gf )

I was a military brat and spent the first 20 years of my life moving from base to base across the United States and around the world. After that, I joined the Air Force and spent another 20 doing the same thing as an adult. I have had opportunities many people have never had, have seen the world and been part of many cultures. It gives you a very different view of the world, people, and places -- that gives my writing a very different spin than others -- many of the places I write about is based on personal experience having lived there.

As an avid reader, I found myself drawn into writing. My first public display of my talents was in 2009 when I climbed back on a motorcycle after a thirty-year hiatus. While riding, I found myself flooded with thoughts, words, and visions of tales I should tell. So, I did. I started a blog to record those events. I found myself writing about people, adventures, and observations. It was not long before I expanded into fictional tales written.

The blog evolved into a weekly, when I was assigned to Kuwait, then writing about my experiences living in the Middle East… humorous and poignant. It was there, during a meeting, I expressed a small bit of regret that I had yet to become the storyteller I envisioned only to have LtCol Dan Ellis, point out that I had become the storyteller – using the written word. Sometimes it takes someone outside of you to point out a truth you are too close to see. I am grateful Dan did, as it caused me to write and publish my first novella and to begin writing tales in earnest.

The writing world is a lot of Catch-22s. To get a book considered by a publishing house, your Agent must arrange for it to be considered. To get an agent, you must be published. So there is no way to get one without the other or vice versa. People break the mold a lot of different ways and slip in through the cracks. I see Indie publishing as a way to do that as well as a way to tell tales that might never even be considered by the economics driven world of publishing.

I usually read three books at once, that way I have something for whatever mood I am in: Something fictional (techno-thriller, mystery or adventure), something humorous and something historical or educational.

Being read and hearing from readers what they thought about what I have written. Some like my characters, some like my plotlines, some the dialog -- and some want to tell me how they would have preferred the story to go differently.

One of the most complimentary things I've had happen was when I let a few folks read the first few chapters of a book to make sure I was on the right track. Among the response I got was one that demanded to know what was going to happen to one of the characters, because they really liked the person I had created. It felt awesome to know I had created something that was vivid enough to spark that kind of emotion.

"From Within the Firebird's Nest" was a story developed over five years. The base plotline came to me, but there were things I couldn't figure out at that time -- so I set it aside. Over the years I figured out how to make the story work and the characters I wanted to include. My discovery of numbers stations provided the final tool I needed to drive the entire story, and I began to write.

I am currently working on a story I actually started a while back and set aside: A computer wiz contacted by a woman who “friend zoned” him in adolescence wanting help for her ex who is being framed for a brutal murder. The victim is the trophy wife of a powerful man who benefits from falsely attributed honor and stature because of his background and military career. I hope to publish by the end of 2017.