Covers are designed from the emotions the story evokes from the reader.

I avoid showing character details on covers. This gives the reader the lattitude to generate a unique version of the character in his/her mind as the story unfolds. This way, the reader has ownership.

Of late, I use Julie Pevnick Levy, an artist by trade, for cover design. She did a marvelous job on "My Slice of Heaven."

1. The Dirk Pitt Series by Clive Cussler. Because it is an adventure series that uses scenery and narration to set up the plot; this is a style I have learned to incorporate into my own stories.

2. "1984" by George Orwell. It's scary as SHIT, and I want to go back in time and smack George Orwell for giving our government the idea of "Big Brother".

3. "Star Wars, Episode IV, ANew Hope," by George Lucas. It's an epic coming of age story that profoundly effected me.

4. "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe," by Fannie Flagg . This story has a most delicious plot twist, so profoundly creepy that I've molded the concept into most of my stories.

5. "Legacy," by LC Cooper (li'l ol' me). This tale grew out of a challenge from one of my FanStory fans. I was dared to tell two stories at the same time around a plot that weaved both stories together. The result lays out a dire scenario for the future of humanity.

My favorite stories are adventure mysteries and romantic comedies, but I have read so many that I can't point to a specific favorite author.

My iPhone is my e-reader of choice.

This interview template has proven extremely helpful. Also, my publicist, CJD.sign, greatly expanded my reach to many new readers and potential fans through a new website and social-media platforms.

My short stories are priced for free to entice readers to purchase my novels. My first novel, "Legacy," is discounted to help overcome reader reluctance.

Giving away my novels for free doesn't work and neither have contests and periodic sales at retailer sites.

Indie publishing through Smashwords.com has proven invaluable, whereas Amazon's KDP platform has yielded meager results. Thanks to Smashwords's retailer partnerships, Barnes & Noble remains my most successful retailer platform, followed by Apple, and then Sony. I keep a suspicious eye on Amazon because, if what Mark Coker (founder and president of Smashwords.com) predicts becomes true with Hachette Publishing Group, then I'll focus only on retailers and publishing platforms that provide an ethical balance that is fair to authors. I hope Hachette has the guts to pull out of Amazon, or it will spell the end to the agency-pricing model and the end to author-publisher-determined pricing.

My desk consists of a laptop and my reclining sofa.

To shock my preschool teacher, one day , my best friend and I colored our bunny pictures green, which earned us sad-face stamps. That was when I realized that my efforts could motivate people to react. My first attempt at writing a story with a plot came when I was 13; I wrote a Star Trek short story and submitted it to a relative for editing. She wasted no time in turning my offering into a pulpy mush. The masochistic bug took hold, and I was hooked.

During my early formative years, I read a lot of timeless adventure, mystery, sci-fi, and comedy stories, which still remain influencers. Then, Erma Bombeck, Patrick McManus, Albert Einstein, Shirley MacLaine, tell-all baseball tales, and "Doonesbury", "Calvin and Hobbs" & "Bloom County" helped broaden my world and hone my rapier wit :).

My latest book under construction is "Royal Venom," in which a jealous prince and a ruthless opportunist conspire to change royal lineage. Collin Reggero, the hero in "Legacy," becomes an unwitting pawn in this blood thirsty tale. -What would YOU do to become King?

An unfriendly publishing environment, where I was rejected 54 times by agents and publishers for my first novel, proved the impetus to jump ship and try something different. Thankfully, I did my research and avoided the trap of vanity publishing. In 2010, all-knowing Google pointed me to self publishing via Smashwords and Kindle Direct Publishing. Without these platforms my short stories and novels would have become a meaningless hobby without an outlet.

My greatest joy is looking at the world differently, and then coming up with stories and plot twists by tapping into my subconscious, the universe, and God. I am thrilled to write; it's a lot of fun to turn off my brain and let the stories's characters take over.

There is no greater thrill than having someone download a story and spread the word to other readers. I purposely leave out non-essential details about characters so that my readers, fans in particular, can "own" the story--visualizing their own characters.

I would like to thank my family, my publicist - CJD.Sign, Julie Pevnick Levy, Ruth Ann Nordin, Stephanie Beaman, Joleene Naylor, and especially God for their contributions and encouragement over the years.

After "Royal Venom", the next project is "For The Love Of Peace"-- The story of a band of Copperheads sent to make peace with the South, during the bloody Civil War. Peace at any price?

Kids and cats compel me to get out of bed. Beyond that, a back log of over 50 short stories, novels and series inspire me to write.

I spend my time gardening, playing with the kids, tormenting the cats, and eating out.

Smashwords gives me access to many tools that, when combined with the breadth and depth of its extensive retail and library partners, lets my novels and short stories reach potentially millions of readers. The Smashwords tools are truly "viarl catalysts," in that I can make any number of changes to settings, pricing, keywords, and many more things that get my titles in front of readers that may not otherwise discover my stories.

Also, Smashwords collects its revenue from me only when I sell books, which means I'm not charged up-front fees common to vanity publishers.

Then, my stories aren't butchered by editors and agents--those who feel they know best what readers want. I'm not pigeon-holed into any specific genre, and I'm writing exactly what I want to write.

In summary, Smashwords gives me the freedom to express myself without constraints.

Most often, I read books recommended on blogs I follow. These blog sites usually attract folks with similar interests, so their reading suggestions are often spot on.

Inspired by a general thought or insightful title, I'll quickly jot down a first draft of plot points and rough out my characters. Subsequent edits lead to writing my first draft. Then, I get out of the way, turn off my critical brain, and let my imagination and the characters drive the story.

I enjoy writing within a pre-formatted template. I feel doing so eliminates the tedium of including major formatting tasks to the chore of editing.