When did you first start writing?
I started writing in grade school. I didn't know why I did it, I sure as heck never thought myself as an aspiring writer, but I would think of interesting stories and write them out. Sometimes they would be inspired by something new I'd experienced, after all, so many experiences that adults consider mundane are magnificent to children, and any new experience could excite my imagination. Otherwise, they came from necessity. One children's story I wrote, The Adventures of Tom Turkey, stemmed from a Thanksgiving class assignment in the fourth grade. Where most kids wrote a page or two about a thanksgiving, I wrote a 25 page story of a turkey who fought to rescue his feathered-friends from ending up on the Thanksgiving menu in the White House. When questioned as to why I came up with such an elaborate story, I said I wrote it because I didn't like most of the stuff they forced us to read in school, and I wanted to write something that kids my age would enjoy!
What's the story behind your latest book?
Nature of the Beast is based on several burning ideas that came from my experiences, especially within the military. I chose to write a science fiction novel because it was the most effective medium to create a thrilling story with the material I wanted to incorporate.
The Universe that Steele, Brasidus, and Marcus live in is my own mental extrapolation of what the future will be like based on our current political, environmental, technological, and social trends.
Read more of this interview.