Ever since I could talk, I told stories, enthralling my mother when I came home from school in kindergarten and holding my class captive where the teacher would call in the principal to hear another one of my stories. I took every English class in high school and attended college where I met other serious writers for the first time. I love reading the classics, like Steinbeck, London, Tolstoy, and Austen, most especially British, Russian, and Californian authors. The greatest influence on me was when I met Ray Bradbury at the Santa Barbara Writer's Conference and he gave his talk on, "So, You more...
