At what age did you start writing? And why?

I started writing when I was about eight or nine, and it began as a form of escape. I was a small kid and was bullied a fair amount, so I read all the time to help me escape.

And I soon transitioned from just reading to actually writing. Partly because I wasn’t happy reading the stories that were out there – I’m a notoriously picky reader still to this day — and partly because in these stories that I wrote I transformed from a little boy to a young man who was tall, strong, and desirable.

And brave. Always brave…