It typically starts with a scene or an image of a character. My short story Shibari Sails started with some photographs I'd taken of my part of south Florida and some of wonderful people I've met, over the years. I envisioned an innocent young woman falsely convicted, and started writing. The characters took over and the first draft was finished in two days. Once I create a first draft, I always set it aside for at least a week, before attempting to edit. My editing process includes reading the text outloud. This little trick helps catch a ton of typoes.

The first one I recall reading is Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was an old hard-bound edition given to me by a distant relative when I was about eight. I loved it and haven't stopped reading since.

I'm constantly looking at cover art used by my favorite genre novelists. When I'm selecting my own art, two things are foremost in my mind. Number one, does it impart an idea of what the reader will find in the story, and number two, is it recognizable when reduced to a tiny thumbnail image that one sees on various webpages?

Only five? Wow! That is a tough one, but here goes...

#1 Time Enough for Love, by Robert Heinlein
My old dog-eared copy has been read many times. It works on many levels besides being a rousing good science fiction adventure. My illuminated manuscript copy of "The Notebooks of Lazarous Long" is a treasured excerpt from the novel.

#2 The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester
This is another golden-age science fiction novel that is still readable more than sixty years after publication.

#3 On The Edge, by Ilona Andrews
This is the first book in a four-book series that is a wonderful piece of modern urban fantasy. Well written with memorable characters.

#4 Black Blade Blues, by J.A. Pitts
Another excellent piece of urban fantasy with some unexpected twists.

#5 A Hymn Before Battle, by John Ringo
Perhaps one of the best military science fiction authors of all time. Besides rousing tales, he is prolific with more than thirty novels currently in print.

Mostly Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction, although I do love a good steampunk or dieselpunk tale. If you've not tried steampunk before, I highly recommend the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger.

My smartphone is a Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. I always keep several novels on it that I read whenever I'm waiting in line or have a bit of free time.

Albert Einstein once said, "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” In my case, this means cameras, cards, pens, flashlights, eyeglass cleaning supplies, calculators, spare eyeglasses, speakers, microphone, printer, cables, and various small dust-catchers.

I was born in south Florida and raised in Florida, New Jersey, Indiana, Mexico City, Texas, and many points between. I've known many colorful people from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

I recall writing a couple of pages of short science fiction when I was about eight. Later on, I wrote shorts and poetry while in the Navy. My first full novel was an erotic piece back in the early '80s.

I take a lot of photographs and also enjoy designing and building my own card stock models. An example that combines both hobbies is the free model kit of an ancient iron furnace that I've published here: http://postorbitaldesign.net/card-stock-models/iron-furnace/

Recommendations from friends, surfing various social networking sites, and following the blogs of favorite authors.