My wife and I especially enjoy world travel.

I'm also heavily involved with my genealogical research which is geared to present a different version of history. Hopefully, I'll conclude most of the basic research this year so I can begin writing the manuscript. You can view quite a bit I've uncovered so far on "The Patricians" section of my Goodreads Authors Blog (see https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/2270675-the-patricians-the-ancestral-heritage-of-steven-wood-collins-2014-ret).

I don't really have the time to do too much recreational reading, but Goodreads provides useful links to ebooks, as does Smashwords.

Of course, like I remember the Alamo.

Usually, I adopt a daily routine of writing something, whether as applied to my blog or any new manuscript I'm working on. Moreover, I take a "sketch and paint" approach with the fiction I write. What that means is I develop plot and sub-plots first, and then go back to add literary color, such as characterisation and setting.

As I recall, I started reading Ian Fleming's "James Bond" series when I was in my early teens, although I can't for the life of me remember which one I read first. Ian's literary style and genre had a huge impact on me then.

I try not to produce anything that's too slick. I prefer the cover design leads the reader's eye to pique enough interest in the story so he or she will at least open the book and take a peek at the interior content.

I'm a avid fan of historical fiction, particularly Ken Follett's novels. So, all the books of his that I've read would be included in the top five list. You could add "A Rage to Live" to the list, as well.

Mainly for intellectual stimulation. I used to be a ravenous reader of NYT best sellers, but when I began writing myself, I got out of the habit.

PC software.

I've yet to hit upon one that I'd say has been most effective.

It's quite well-organised and inspirational.

I spent my childhood as an Air Force brat, so I grew up in a succession of places where my father was posted, usually a different one every six months to a year. When he left the service when I was 10, I lived mainly in Colorado Springs throughout the remainder of my youth. I'm afraid the nomadic military lifestyle left me somewhat prone to isolationism, especially since I never bonded with any one community as a result. I think the flip side of that coin of circumstance is I'm independent and rather open-minded, which leads me to some fiction of no small consequence.

I began writing business prose in my twenties. I traveled and wrote as a publlsher's rep. last employed by Conde Nast,for about 10 years after I left college. I then entered the financial services arena, where after a stint as a stock broker and trader in the late 1980s, I took a job in a compliance-related department wherein my main tasks involved, you guessed it, writing business prose.

Well, the short answer is the fictional history of a power talisman endowed to humanity by an ancient extra-terrestrial civilisation, It is first given to an ice age shaman who's charged with its stewardship for the rest of human history. He loans the talisman to qualified individuals who thereafter wield it to ward off mankind's extinction during certain perilous periods of time. A good historical example would be the Sword of Solomon or King Arthur's Excalibre (though neither figure into my story). The talisman takes on a shape chosen by the wielder, e.g. sword, staff, cigar, etc. In my story, the talisman's power ends after 13 tries, so our protagonist, if chosen, will be the last wielder before the impending Apocalyse. .

No liteary agent representation.

The distinct honour of their seeing something worthwhile in my writing.

Perhaps a sequel to "Puramore - The Lute of Pythagoras". I have a few plays in mind, though.

Ken Follett and William Shake-speare (a.k.a. Earl Edward de Vere).

My blog.

Yet to be determined.

The total absorption of creativity.

Firstly, I was paid to write during my career in business. That's all I basically did for the last 10 years before my fiftieth birthday. In the main, then, I wrote business prose, sometimes of a fictional nature, and not, for instance, computer code of a transitional nature.

Secondly, my ancestral background in literature tends to support my proclivity as a writer. You can judge for yourself by viewing the list of noted authors, poets, and publishers shown at the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/4666166-the-patricians-57-historically-noted-poets-authors-playwrights-and-pu

To tell you the truth, it won't hurt my literary sensibilities if I never realise commercial success as writer, poet, or novelist, What would hurt my feelings as a human being, though, is a malevolent threat to freedom of speech ever presented itself to thwart the exercise of creative writing pursuits by individuals like myself. If that ever occurs on a global basis, it'll spell the end of our civilisation.

It's not only looming, it's here in full regalia. Some people see the internet as the "salutary" realisation of Marshall MacLuhan's "Global Village", I see it quite differently in that the trappings of Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" society are instead beginning to show, As a "gathering of the people..." phenomenon, the internet "Global Village" gives me pause to consider its potential spiritual ramifications. I more than tangentially deal with that issue in my novel.

I think that's not necessarily inaccurate assessment. If we consider the "Creators" - such as those of Olympians, Christian, Hindi, or Judean - we might conclude that they had a sardonic sense of humour in creating mankind, or their version thereof, in their image. I don't necessarily believe the "Gods" are wagering as to how we're going to behave in terms of their laws, but if they are placing bets in the Heavenly Casino, they must be having a good time.