The creative outlet. There are a lot of ideas and "what if's" I contemplate regularly. It's enormously fun and fulfilling to take some of those ideas and run with them. Some turn into great stories and some don't, but the process of exploring each one is a great joy to me.

I personally love authors that are comedic, but can also make you think. Some examples are Douglas Adams, Christopher Moore and Kurt Vonnegut. Other authors I love are Chuck Palahniuk, Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin.

My writing process is much like a painter's process, starting with an idea and a blank canvas and putting down the broad strokes, then gradually adding layers of detail. I start with the bare bones of a story, the start, middle and end. I then write the bare bones narrative, in the form of 'This happened, then this happened, etc...' Once I finish a first narrative draft I go back and add prose and dialogue. After that I add another layer of color, such as more details of the scenery, settings, and character descriptions.

I started writing about the sixth grade. I read a lot from a young age, mostly fantasy novels. They inspired my imagination and I found myself wanting to be able to create fantastical stories like the authors I loved. As I grew up I still read quite a bit, but my writing dropped off in favor of more pragmatic pursuits, like college. I started writing again in earnest when I turned thirty-five (hopefully I'm slightly better now).

Aliens, discovery, impending doom, and a race against time. I'd tell you more but I don't want to ruin it for you.

The chance to write stories and distribute them without the 'gate-keeper' that is the traditional publishing houses. A publishing house may or may not like my - or any other author's - work. That should not be a reason for readers not to be able to experience it if they wish.

I still work as a professional engineer. That, combined with spending time with my family, take up most of my time. When I do have free time I enjoy reading, cooking, painting and video games.

I don't remember the first story I ever read, though I do remember the first story that made a big impact on me. In the seventh grade my English teacher suggested a book to me called "The Trumpeter of Krakow". Among all the books I had read up to that point, that one really enthralled me and sparked my imagination.

Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
by Christopher Moore

This book is incredibly funny, like most of Moore's books, but also very thought provoking.

Invisible Monsters
By Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk has an incredible ability to tell very original stories that are at once very, very strange and very moving.

What If: Serious Scientific Answers To Absurd Hypothetical Questions
by Randall Munroe

This book is non-fiction, yet very funny all the same. It appeals to the scientific nerd in me that enjoys asking just that question, "What If?"

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
by Douglas Adams

When it comes to original Sci-Fi mixed with laugh out loud humor, Douglas Adams is the master.

The Eye Of The World
by Robert Jordan

The fantasy world and the characters Jordan creates are amazing and immersive - every author should strive to able to do what he did.

I don't actually have a desk, per se. I write on my laptop, which offers me the freedom to write from where I happen (or want) to be. I write everywhere from my living room, to coffee shops, to bars, to parks. Depending on what scene or story I am writing at the time I try to go to an environment helps put me in that particular frame of mind.