From an early age, books were sustenance in my life. My mother was the librarian at the library in our little town (pop. 450), and books were just always a part of my world. Writing came naturally, then, as I attempted to construct stories like those I enjoyed reading. My first attempts were fantasy stories, in imitation of Lewis and L'Engle. I moved on to Chip Hilton imitations, and then tried my hand at mimicry of Stephen King. As my taste has now moved toward Southern Gothic, I have no real hope of imitating the woman I consider the master (Flannery O'Connor) so I don't even attempt it.
I now read a lot of non-fiction, which often inspires the writing I do on the fictional side of things. I particularly enjoy war memoirs, as well as biographies of various sorts. I am also winding my way through O'Connor's work, as well as attempting to make a dent in the Steinbeck canon.