What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a close friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That happens to me regularly.
My books are not just stories between covers but magnificent Adventures! My mindset whenever I write is to create an epic quest. I want readers to visualize the rising action in their minds eye as if they are there. Then to set them upon an expedition for a real hidden treasure in carefully selected locations steeped in history, secrets and allure. My books don't end with the last page of the story, but begin!
I'm generally accessible through social media unless I get inundated with messages and have no time to respond which unfortunately happens. I occasionally do speaking engagements at clubs and universities. Other times I've been known to message back and forth for an entire evening with a fan. It all depends upon my schedule and a little luck.
I have been inspired by several authors. Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock and Mary Shelley come immediately to mind. I'm a fan of old time horror, not the slasher type that seeks to shock through blood, sex and gore at the expense of plot, setting and character development. I like to find horror in the most unlikely of places obscured in history and frighteningly true.