Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I'm a 41 year old author living in the Chicago suburb of Oswego, IL (about an hour due west of the city).  I have been writing and/or taking photos as long as I can remember.  I wrote the most during college and within the last three years.  In between, the writing was more sporadic due to my various jobs after graduation.

Describe your book ‘Dark Bites:  Four Tales of Horror’ in 30 words or less.

Four Chicago women confront monsters and horrors between 1979 and the far future.  It features new takes on familiar classics with strong female protagonists, blood, gore and terror.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Getting started, but once the first part was started, it was hard to keep up with the words coming out of my mind.  The other three parts came quickly thereafter followed by proofreading, editing and revising (all of which being the next hardest things).

What books have had the greatest influence on you?

The Anubis Gates (Tim Powers), The Dead Zone, IT, Needful Things, and Pet Sematary (Stephen King), Neverwhere & American Gods (Neil Gaiman), The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkein), The Four Agreements & Mastery of Love (Don Miguel Ruiz), Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy & Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Douglas Adams), The Professor and the Madman (Simon Winchester), Beowulf (Seamus Heaney), the Victors (Stephen Ambrose), A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole), Catching the Big Fish (David Lynch), Black Hawk Down (Mark Bowden), I am legend (Richard Matheson) and the Bourne trilogy (Robert Ludlum). 

Briefly share with us what you do to market your book?

Worked for months while writing to connect with people interested in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, etc. online (chiefly Twitter).  I engaged people I found to be kindred spirits, magazines, writers/editors, reviewers, celebrities and fans.  I have greatly enjoyed connecting with so many amazing/interesting people and mutually supporting interests and artistic endeavors.

How do you spend your time when you are not writing?

I read a lot of books, watch a lot of movies and mentally work on current/future writing.  I enjoy the outdoors and in particular hiking and biking. 

What are you working on next?

I'm nearly finished with a new horror ebook (focused on zombies) which will be available online before the end of July 2011.