I grew up writing fantasy stories in elementary school, the subjects of which are way too embarassing to bring up here, and by the time I was 12, I began working on fan fiction. My earliest influences were Jurassic Park (doesn't every kid love dinosaurs), Predator, and then the Resident Evil video games. One of my fondest memories is of my 7th grade teacher Mrs. Lutter, who read a book I was writing to the class when we had extra time at the end of the day. I suppose that was the first time I realized I could really entertain people with my stories more...
