My desk is strew with scraps of paper with ideas written on them. When I decide to write, I have to go through them all to remember what goes with what.

I grew up Catholic in fundamentalist Oklahoma where we might as well have been a different species. Also, I grew up in the space age, when they were launching the rockets that put men on the Moon. How has this influenced my writing? I am skeptical but optimistic, guarded but with room for hope if one has the strength of will to stay true to one's convictions and see past the BS.

John Dos Passos, Mark Twain.

I have the only known photo of the wolverine at the Oklahoma City Zoo when he was actually out of his burrow, a.k.a. dirt hole exhibit.

Ride a Greyhound bus.

Well, I used to be thin. I have big blue eyes with long lashes that girls thought were pretty before I even knew I might be good looking. But was I really good-looking? That's very subjective. When I was young we did not take selfies, so I guess we weren't so obsessed with how we looked. Cell phones sure have screwed up photography. Now we have billions of low-quality photos of trivial crap. Quality is gone. Why can't people find other people to take their pictures? There is always one arm missing in selfies. Future people will think we were deformed.

Who wouldn't want to a rich, sophisticated, dashing, slightly daft toad?

Fans mean I've made someone's day a little better. I like to puncture pride with humor, and I hope some readers see this as a good thing. Read some of the works I'm proudest of, like my novel "Prometheus Fit To Be Tied" or my new story "Fly Whither, Finch," and see if they strike a chord with you. I've also written some sillier stuff. If you like any of these, you're a fan. You can even contact me if you like (see below).

Work. Pancakes. The love of my family. Avarice. The chance that I might find a collectible old radio that I can afford.

Email. I don't understand Twitter. I don't want "followers" - it sounds freaky and cult-like. Please email me instead. My email address is paul_hawk63(at)yahoo.com. I would like to hear from you. Please don't sign me up for Viagra. Or you could like my Facebook page and leave a message there.