I have a great number of favorite authors, but I have to say than none have inspired me as much as Sir Terry Pratchett and his Discworld creation. The fact is--his career has been a light for me in the creation of Wanted Hero and the plans I crafted in how I wanted to both write and promote the series.

I'm not sure I always feel inspired to get out of bed.

Beds are comfortable.

I do love writing and creating though--and so, yes, knowing I'm going to be crafting something to make a reader smile...or encourage them to do something amazing themselves...THAT is what gets me up and going most days.

...or I stay in bed,

Beds are comfortable.

My life revolves around family and youth. So when I'm not writing, I'm usually teaching--both adults and youth--or donating my time to the community. I grins wheat for the local farmers, deliver bread, pull weeds on farms, take donations for the poor...and work in youth programs.

Yes, I'm father of 12---so many of these things are done with the help of my own children.
...never too late to teach kids good habits.

Recommendations. That's it.

I used to download "FREE" everything, but most of what I experienced was drivel at best. Then I spent money on guesses and that was either a gold mine of entertainment or robbery. So I decided to stay connected with friends who read a lot and let THEM spend the money and tell me what the loved the most.

Now the books I buy are 80% on point, or better. Getting recommendations form someone you trust makes a world of difference.
...and it saves a nice chunk of change, too!

Nope.

Though if I were to guess, it would be something from "My Minds Eye"...like the articles I post on my website at wantedhero.com.

Short, sweet, twisted. Odd.

Definitely odd.

Get up at 3am and start writing.

I do this from a rough outline--thoughts and a collection of tidbits from the world journals I've crafted over the years. Once I start writing, I'll go back to the previous chapter from the day before and do a light edit--that way by the time I'm done editing, I'm in the mood to add to the story and I can jump right into it.

The books get a read over once, and then I publish. Not the best system, but I focus more on adding to the story than the other details and my readers send me notes if there is anything seriously out of whack.

So far, so good.

Frankly I wish I could afford to have the covers done professionally--as in painted, but I can't.

So I do it myself. The key is to have as little actual art as possible--and focus more on fonts.

However--there's a distinct advantage to doing the Chronicles of a Hero series--in that the smiley face (from Wendell's shirt) is a trademark and it's pretty simple to craft. Eventually i'll have a professional do it over, but for now it's looking pretty good.