I'm a scribbler. I keep a notebook on hand at all times in case of inspiration. I write in notebooks during my regular writing times, then transcribe everything onto the computer later. It's not efficient, but I'm a horrible typist.

Yep. A 13,000 word story about what would happen if you took the right-to-life concept to the extreme (hint: every egg and sperm are used to seed automated colony ships).

That's a really tough question...

Count Zero by William Gibson: I'd read a lot of SF before Gibson, but he changed my entire concept of what SF could be.

Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami. Like some other Japanese authors (Banana Yoshimoto, etc.) He's got a very different style from western fiction, an entirely different way of pacing and narrative.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Some very powerful stories about what it's like to experience war from an emotional standpoint, especially the small things that would never make it onto the media's radar.

LOTR by Tolkien. It's hard to think of a better world builder.

Sweet Thursday by Steinbeck. Really good characters.

The Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson. I just thought it was such a perfectly-put-together story as this girl moves through the different societies in her future world. Very believable, fascinating world-building IMO.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. Le Guin's beautiful, yet strong, use of language is something I strive to emulate.

Oops, that's seven! Can I add another 50?

NPR, NYT, library sites...

Reading (usually non-fiction), watching movies, taking the kids swimming, and when I have a little bit of extra time (almost never)-- cooking!

I recall reading Tolkien late at night as a middle-schooler. I was enthralled. I think I read it at least five times over the next few years.

I've found you really need to have a solid idea for the cover's theme. What are you trying to convey, what part of the story can you show that expresses its theme without revealing too much? Then I try to come up with specific elements (figures, characters, positioning, background) and extract specific, descriptive text from the story. I also search the web for any images that communicate my ideas. Don't expect the artist to somehow just know what you want. I send all this to an artist whose work and style match my ideas for the cover (are they good at faces, figures, mechanical design, aliens, etc?). They then take what I've given them and make it better!

I love to read SF for pleasure but I rarely do, as it crowds out my own ideas for writing.

Wrap-around, corner desk without much clear space. I rarely use it for writing though- I do that mostly on the train or in libraries.

When I was 35. I'd repeated "I can write something better than that" one too many times. I had to see if I was right.

I've submitted short stories for years with several near-acceptances but only one story published (in Lore- thank you Lore!), but my overall impression (based on critiques and junior editor comments) was my stories seemed to have an audience even if they didn't match up well with what senior editors wanted. I decided I would take my work straight to readers and let them decide. My credo is if your stuff is good, there will be an audience for it out there somewhere, and given the ebook revolution, it's finally possible to reach them.

Living vicariously through my characters. Discovering things about their lives and stories I never expected.

An SF novel: The Farthest City. I'm hoping to publish it this fall or winter.

"In The Farthest City, Sheemi Tanamal wants nothing more than to join her dead brother. A new mission will change everything. Kellen Beaudin’s one obsession is to draw the intelligent machines that aided humanity long ago. His new friends have secrets of their own."

I'm still working on this description... :-)