Honestly, I became an indie author because it was far simpler than trying to break into the traditional writing market. After several attempts to get published in magazines and trying to get an agent or publisher willing to take a risk on an unknown author, I found Smashwords and decided I would give it a shot. I figured that I would get my writing out there and let the readers decide. Now, with nearly nine thousand sales/downloads in countries all over the world, I am glad I made that decision. I may not get rich selling my books online and publishing free stories, but it is rewarding to know that thousands of people have enjoyed my work.

Smashwords is amazing. It was my first and only choice when I decided to self publish. My books are now available all over the world and I've actually made a bit of money. I would highly recommend Smashwords to any aspiring author trying to break into this crowded market.

That is a tough question. What I love about the writing process is the experience that many authors have had when my story takes on a life of its own and I am merely along for the ride. But my greatest joy is knowing that my stories have had an impact on a reader. I've received dozens of reviews since I started publishing, mostly positive, and I can tell when reading a review when my story has affected the reader. My favorite review of all time was simply two words: "Goosebumps, everyone!" While my writing has been called "demented and twisted," and "blood-sucking scary," among other things any horror writer would be happy to hear, those two words showed me that my story had the impact I had hoped.

I'm not sure I have any yet, though I seem to be gaining a small following. It's great to know that people are enjoying my work and I hope that my writing does for them what some of my favorite authors' writing as done for me. My little sisters, after whom I've named two characters in the Akeldama series, represent my fans for me. If they like something, I know it's good. If they don't, I'll rethink it. They bring their ereaders to school with them and their friends all read my stories and books. Before Akeldama: The Field of Blood was even close to publication, my sister and her friends all went trick or treating as characters from the novel. That was awesome.

I am currently finishing up the sequel to my Vampire novel Akeldama: The Field of Blood and a few more short stories. It's taken longer than expected, but I hope that the final product will be worth the wait. I have a few other works in various stages of completion. Due to work and other circumstances I haven't been able to publish anything new in a while, but rest assured, the new stuff is coming.

Stephen King, C. S. Lewis, Frank Peretti, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Trey Parker (who is more a writer than an author, but he still has influenced me greatly.)

I work on an apple orchard, so my time is spent working and then recovering. I read a lot, play and write music, and spend time with my family.

Yes. We had a creative writing project in fifth grade. We had to chose a picture from magazine cutouts on the wall and write a three page story about it. I picked a picture of a little girl and a large dog and was inspired not only to write my first story, but my first horror story. I still remember the first line: "It has eaten a small girl.

Cover design is hard for me. I don't have the money to hire somebody to do it well, so I do my own. Mostly I just put the title on some sort of colored background, but sometimes I use a photo or drawing.

Mostly works by the authors I mentioned above, though I challenge myself to read at least one new author a year. I also enjoy Star Trek novels, and have a collection of nearly two hundred of them in the section of my library I like to call my "nerd shelf."

Number One: The Stand by Stephen King. This epic was my first introduction to horror literature and to King. It was the first book I read that I wished would never end and has had the greatest influence on me.
Number Two: Desperation by Stephen King. This book showed me that while numerous attempts have been made over the years to combine horror and "Christianity", by both religious and secular authors, it could be done seamlessly and enjoyably.
Number Three: The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. Lewis is one of my favorite authors and I love everything I read by him, but this book which combined the fantastical world of Narnia with the biblical book of Revelation was amazing!
Number Four: The Green Mile by Stephen King (noticing a pattern?) First book to ever make me cry.
Number Five: Green Eggs and Ham. I taught myself to read using this book at age four and it has had a soft spot in my heart ever since.

I found goodreads.com to be a great tool for promotion and a great way to discuss books, writing, and pretty much anything with like minded people. Besides that, I use word of mouth. Others have started blogging about my work as well.