I read science fiction and fantasy. Recently, I have re-read the entire Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card and the Bazil Broketail series by Christopher Rowley. My absolute favorite genre is space opera, the idea of zooming from one corner of the universe to another alien planet is very exotic.

I have a nice wooden roll-top desk that is mostly kept clean. Clutter distracts me from reading and writing. On top of the desk however is another story. The top has several flower pots that contain different types of plants ranging from cacti to a bonsai tree, each invoke a different environment. Something important on my desk is a pair of speakers, I write much better when stimulated by good music. Another tool that I use that isn't necessarily on my desk is a large dry erase board. The board allows me to track characters as I progress through a story.

I grew up on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico on a small farm. The remoteness of the farm from any neighbors meant that my brother and I were pretty isolated. This encouraged the both of us to be very creative. We have spent countless hours watching movies and television shows and have each tried our hands at crafting our own stories.

I started writing in elementary school, but reading it now that I'm older is painful. I started writing my first novel in spring of 2007 and took nearly eight years to complete. The reason for the length is that I would write in spurts and then life would come in and adjust my priorities again. I have other stories in various stages, but once I hit 50% on one I set a goal to finish it.

I started it because I kept waking up with dreams from the story. They did not relent until I started writing them down. The story is a blend of almost everything that I have absorbed in the last two decades with my own twist. My book is a space opera, but follows multiple characters that never meet one another. The characters actions have consequences for each other though. I plan to turn the book into a sequel, introducing new characters and continuing the story line from the ones I have now.

I made a goal for myself once my book hit a halfway point and that was to finish my first book. Writing is a hobby to me, but I didn't want anybody to read a half finished manuscript. Becoming an indie author allows me to share a finished version of what has been rattling around inside my head for a long time. If I see people reading the book and liking it, then I will continue writing at the pace that I've been going at since hitting halfway.

I surprise myself. I usually outline a story arc of what each character does in a book, but I have changed it midway because I thought of or saw something that I thought would be a great twist. So reading my own book is like watching somebody else grow. I greatly enjoy watching the page count rise as I'm hammering away at a book too. I think that by writing, I will influence my friends and brother to write too, and I really want to read what their perspective is.

If my book is well received then I plan on writing a series of books in the universe that I've created. After that, perhaps a prequel series? Fantasy is another genre that is ripe for my imagination to explore. There are countless series that contain dragons, but they can be either good or evil. I definitely foresee an alternate historical fiction that contains dragons.

Wow, this could be a long list. In no particular order, here we go; Edgar Rice Burroughs, J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Rowley, Harold Coyle, George R.R. Martin, Lawrence Watt-Evans, H. G. Wells, Edgar Allen Poe, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, and many others that I can't remember off hand at the moment

The future. I am getting married to an incredible woman soon and we have a bright future ahead of us, but we both have to work hard to make it come to fruition. My job at a Fortune 500 company is a great one that keeps me engaged.

I play strategy games on my personal computer. I try to stay away from social media because it can suck time away from you quickly. I read, watch television, play tabletop games, go to movies, hang out with friends and family, and I also cook and help keep the house clean.