I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, but I moved to Texas at the ripe old age of 13. Moving from one predominantly white, English-speaking country to another may not seem that daunting, but the cultures are ridiculously different. For one, when I first moved, no one could understand me, and I couldn't understand them. Now I'm trilingual: Scottish, English, and American (or at least, Texan).

A lot of my stories feature Scottish characters (Billy Baird in PHALANX ALPHA, Bruce and Gil in RISE OF CITHRIA: THE CHOSEN), but they're typically not the main character. Now that I think about it, pretty much everything I write has a British character of some description. Being able to authentically insert a foreigner into the mix adds a flavor that I enjoy. For a simple example, think of Jason Statham in any American movie he does.

Melding cultures together presents more natural conflict, and conflict is something we love to read about.

In 8th grade I took my first stab at creative writing with some limited success, but honestly I didn't pick up the pen with a meaningful purpose until 24 or 25. I got one of my friends hooked on reading, and we would sit and talk about ideas for stories. Eventually I settled on a short story (that I will probably publish in the near future, after a lot of editing) that let me dive into building a story from nothing.

My friend helped iron out the kinks, and at the end of the day we had something both of us would enjoy reading. Not that long after that, I started the outline for PHALANX ALPHA.

SHALLOW CREEK spawned from my experiences in Texas. I've visited trailer parks; I've watched high school football games; I've married a pretty Texan; and I know a few Marines. I haven't tried meth, and I don't plan on doing so any time soon, but the drugs in the story are just part of the vehicle that drives the character interactions. Explosions and guns make for fun scenes, but ultimately we care about characters, be it loving or hating them.

If my readers feel nothing for my characters, then I've failed them.

My good friend Kris Kramer (a fellow author based at www.the4threalm.com) encouraged me to put serious thought and effort into starting a writing career. He read some of the silly short stories I threw together, and he read PHALANX ALPHA in an early stage, and apparently that convinced him that I should pursue this career. As a side bonus for him, I'm a pretty damn good grammar editor, and he needed one! I kid, I kid. Sort of.

The indie part came about because Kris read some of JA Konrath's blog, which I've become addicted to over the last two years. The guy is a fantastic success story, and always the first to admit to his luck and good fortune. He's definitely put in the time to deserve it, and I hope to match even a fraction of his success down the road.

The single biggest thing Smashwords has done for me is teach me how to format a Word document for an ebook conversion. The advice and guide on Smashwords is beyond comparison.

Some of Coker's marketing tips have been really handy, too.

I'm not a good example to follow because I find more joy in the destination, rather than the journey. I love finishing my outline, finishing my first draft, finishing my second draft, finishing my final draft, reviewing my final ebook, and holding my printed copies. These milestones drive me on to the next journey.

I enjoy writing stories, don't get me wrong, but I find true joy in the final product.

Also, getting good feedback from readers lights up my day!

We hosted a table at the Dallas Comic Con this year and I actually got to meet some fans face to face for the first time (my friends and family excluded). The experience was unbelievable. These are such great people to chat with, and the fact they enjoy my writing is just a huge bonus.

I hope to see more of you out at Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days in October!

Kris Kramer, Patrick Underhill, and myself are cranking away at the final revision of THE DESCENT, the sequel to THE CHOSEN in the Rise of Cithria series. We're really excited to get this story out into the hands of those who've been calling for it. THE CHOSEN deliberately left three cliffhangers, and we hope THE DESCENT brings some closure and more surprises as the story unfolds. We've already started the outline for the third book in the series, which will be announced soon.

Outside of that, I'm close to finishing my first draft of an outline for a sequel to SHALLOW CREEK, which is tentatively and cheesily named SHALLOW GRAVE. I've been told by my wife and friends that this title should never see the light of day. What do you guys think?

Also, I'm in the process of cleaning up an old sci-fi short story I wrote, based in the SIGMA SECTOR universe, about an engineer on an antimatter harvester ship working way out in the middle of nowhere. There's sexy women, guns, explosions, pirates, angry bosses, and a few silly jokes about space monkeys along the way. Kris Kramer has big plans for the SIGMA SECTOR universe, and he was kind enough to let me get the ball rolling with ENGINEER.

Michael Crichton. Tom Clancy. Terry Pratchett. Nelson DeMille. John Scalzi. And recently, JA Konrath.

Sadly, I'm a morning person, but please don't judge me! It's not by choice! It's not my fault!

A better question is: What inspires me to stay up until all hours of the night?

Writing stories that my friends enjoy. Getting those same stories into the hands of other readers who might enjoy them. Trying out new things in publishing and marketing. Dancing in the delirium induced by lack of sleep.

I'm an electrical engineer by trade, but I currently manage a small group of engineers for a large oil & gas services company.

Outside of that, I drum for my Celtic rock band, the Tomfooligans, and I enjoy watching the Houston Texans. I also have an odd obsession with the English soccer team, Arsenal. That's a long story that will have to wait for another time. Ask me about it next time we meet.