I have read science fiction and fantasy for decades. Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, Tolkien, Andre Norton, Steven R. Donaldson are my favorite authors.   I wrote the first children's book as a compilation of stories I'd made up for my kids when they were young, about a mystical mythical island. I've been a storyteller of the oral tradition for many years and just recently started writing down all the jumbled stories and books in my head that were itching to get out.   My two current projects are a horror novel and a steampunk novel. For the horror novel, my villains are a classic monster. But not werewolves or vampires... ghouls. Pickman's Model from HP Lovecraft was the inspiration for the creatures. I am a huge fan of his work and have read everything he published, as well as works by Robert Bloch, August Derleth and the various short stories and anthologies of other authors set in the HPL universe.   I got into steampunk only recently but I modified what was originally going to be a historical fiction novel involving the Romans and the Chinese, into a steampunk novel involving New Rome, Great Britiain, assassins, phlogiston and airship battles.