I first started writing back in high school. I didn't know that I wanted to be an author back then. I just knew that I liked to write. I wrote a story that wasn't very long, but at the time, I thought it was good. Then I wrote a sequel with the same characters. Then another. I got away from writing for a while when life got in the way. But once a writer, always a writer...

Publishing seems to be like any other job. You can't get the job without the experience, and you can't get experience without the job. Unless you have an agent or are a best selling author already, it seems to be very hard to get noticed. So I self-published for me. In 50 years, when I look back on my life, I can say that "hey, I am a published author." If I become popular, then so be it. But if it doesn't happen, at least I can say that I published.

Writing can be very cathartic. You can be in control of what happens in your own little corner of the universe. If you have a bad day at work, you can always say to yourself, "I want my character to really kick some ass today," and write about it. It can cure a multitude of ills to focus on something besides your own troubles for a while.

I am working on the fifth book in the Vindicators series. I've gone through a lot with these characters, and there are a few things that still need to be resolved. I keep trying to start a book with different characters, and I lose steam after a while and keep coming back to Vindicators. There's a lot of story left to tell.

My writing process is very organic, and admittedly not very organized. When something comes to me, I'll just write it down, and if it's something that will fit into what I'm working on, I use it. If not, I save it for a rainy day. Ideas come from a lot of places. I was walking through the supermarket one day when it hit me what I wanted the cover of "The Treos Dilemma" to look like. I remember standing at the deli counter drawing a rough sketch on the back of the shopping list I was carrying. It drew more than a few strange looks from the other customers, I can tell you.

Like with music, my taste in books is eclectic. I read all kinds of things. Right now, I'm reading the novelization of the Doctor Who movie from 1996. I read Doctor Who, Star Trek, Harry Potter, crime novels. I even read the "50 Shades" books at one point.

I go through phases when I read. Right now, I'm reading a lot of crime books. I think James Patterson tells a great story. I enjoy his Alex Cross and Jack Morgan books a lot, and I can't wait for the next Michael Bennett story. His writing voice, at least to me, doesn't say, "I am writing this in a book." He just sits down and writes things out like he's talking to you and telling you the story. I don't know if that makes sense, but it does to me, at least.
Whoever is ghost writing the Richard Castle books is a great writer too. The names are changed, but they read just like an episode of the show.

I like the Nook, because I loaded a 32bg Micro USB card in it, and it is a monster now. I probably have more books stored on that thing than I will ever get to read. I managed to find a 64gb iPad 3 at the Apple Store, and it works well too. I use it for the occasional read, but with the Office app I was able to find, I also do a lot of my writing on it too.

There aren't many fans of my work right now, so I know them all pretty well. Like I said, if I become a well-known writer, then great. But I basically self-published for self-satisfaction.
Having said that, it's nice to talk to someone who has actually read my book and have them ask questions about it. It can be a little bit humbling, too. Someone who read the first two books and was about to start the third stunned me one day with, "Does the sister die (in the next book)? Because if you kill her off after all of this I'm really going to hate you."
Wow. You can't beat emotional investment, right?