Influences: William Seward Burroughs (for style), Roger Zelazny (for first-person prose), Robert Ervin Howard (for pure storytelling), Neil Peart, Riothamus, myth, humor, the ironies of human machination (which often cause one to go under the influence, yet often there is wisdom gained), lighthouses, solitude, and the quest for a life free from appointments and schedules.

Two Mayor's Citations for work in creative writing and photojournalism, Nicholl Fellowship nominee for screenwriting, James Tiptree Award nominee for prose, Marquis Who's Who in America, People to People Ambassador to China, Harvard mentorship scholarship, yadda yadda...are these things what matters? Of course not. I wish I could say that I am a good person in the sense of my contribution to the world. Maybe one day the saying will honor me by having a faint ring of truth.