My curious nature led to the writing of Venom of the Gods. I had watched several vampire movies, read many modern vampire novels, and then went back to reread Bram Stoker's Dracula, and nowhere was there a believable origination story for these popular creatures. Where did they come from? How did they get their powers? What do they want? While I admire Mr. Stoker's story, I also wanted to get rid of (or give reason for) some of the vampire weaknesses that I thought a little silly. With their speed, strength, and ability to fly, I see vampires more as the original superheros than as garlic and wood stake fearing creatures of the night. Having lived among humans, I also envisioned them with life dramas and dilemmas of their own, which gives them a human aspect people can better identify with. Even gods worry about those they love.

I have always written for fun. I have handwritten 20,000 word short stories from the bunk of a Navy frigate (sadly, many of those are lost in time), to thousands of poems and song lyrics. With the explosion in eBooks, it seemed a natural extension to start putting my work online for others to enjoy. Another benefit, when my water heater busts in the middle of the night, I won't lose years worth of work when the box containing them gets soaked and the ink runs (really happened).

Smashwords has absolutely contributed to my success. Reviews for Venom are starting to come in from an assortment of websites, and so far they've all been good. Without Smashwords, it would have been very difficult getting my work on such a variety of sites, and to do so would have taken away from my writing time. I enjoy the writing aspect of writing much more than the business management/marketing aspect of it.

Bringing new worlds to life, and hopefully leaving readers with thought-provoking positive impressions.

Everything. I enjoy football (son was a quarterback), and I liken writing to a football team. As the writer, I am the quarterback, and the fans are my team. Without a good team, quarterbacks don't often find success. When I see a positive review, it's like a touchdown. I smile from ear to ear and wish I could go up to that teammate and give him or her a high five. Thank you, fans.

Fallen Roses. A psychological thriller based in small-town Georgia, where a convicted serial killer returns from the dead when his spirit inhabits the body of the husband of the serial killer's daughter. I have one more project lined up after Fallen Roses, and then I will begin a Venom Part II.

Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Ray Bradbury, Niven & Pournelle (highly recommend Lucifer's Hammer), Ernest Hemingway, and many more. I enjoy stories with a strong human element, where normal people are put in abnormal situations.

Honest answer: dogs. My Lab and Newfoundland have built-in clocks; they know when it's breakfast time! Of course family and the excitement of whatever project I'm working on helps me out, too. I am not a huge fan of sleep. Every second I'm asleep is one less second I'm alive (I actually have an outline for a novel I want to do in the future entitled Sleep).

I spend my time doing what everybody does in Colorado (no, not getting high!), exploring the mountains. I have a very capable off-road vehicle that allows me the freedom to find some of the most beautiful hidden treasures in the world like a shimmering-blue snow-fed lake nestled among the peaks at 13,000 feet surrounded by sipping Elk. I also enjoy travel and have visited some incredible destinations such as Tehran and Bandar Abbas in Iran, Dubai, Ukraine, Western Europe, and the majority of the great states in our own country. At home, I read a lot, play sports with my sons (or dogs), or just love curling up with a good movie.

I was about ten or eleven when I wrote The Silly-Agers. It was about a group of teenagers who bullied younger kids, but ultimately the younger children were victorious.

Getting the idea for a story is first. Usually it starts with a single concept, and then I develop plot twists that would make it more interesting. I write that out and then conduct initial research to familiarize myself with the subject, places, or unusual characteristics characters may have (for instance, Fallen Roses has an autistic main character). Once I'm deeply immersed in the world I want to create, I start writing, and it usually goes fast. I want to pull the story out of the nether without losing the rhythm. Sometimes, it really feels like channeling. Once that's done, comes the laborious process of rereading, refining, editing, and then doing it again. By the time a story is done, I have often read it at least ten times.

Bram Stoker created a genre with his novel, and to honor that, I attempted to create a prologue in his style, right down to his oft used word laconically. After the prologue, I wanted to gently pull the reader into modern times when the main character, Michael, regains his memory.
The joining of aliens, gods/demons, and vampires into one was not as difficult as I thought it would be. It's almost like they were meant to be one. Maybe they are?
Freeze-dried blood really does exist.
I consider Venom more of a science fiction thriller than a horror, but whenever vampires are mentioned, the horror genre is automatically assumed.