READER'S ROCK LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE VOL 2 ISSUE 4 NOVEMBER 2014 Vol. 1 Issue 5 November 2013 | Page 8

pages by late October. That
book was published in March
1996. The books were huge
bestsellers that established me
as a leader in technology
writing.
Who has been most
influential to you in regard to
your publishing career?
Robert: Growing up, family
was the most important thing.
We didn’t have much, but my
mom, my sisters, and I had
each other. My own family has
been as great an influence on
my life and career. In fact, I
started writing children’s books
for my children. The books I
wrote were the kind of books I
wished were available in stores
but weren’t.
As my children grew up, the
types of children’s books I
wrote changed with them. I
wrote books for infants and
toddlers, then progressed into
early readers and eventually to
chapter books. As with my

fiction, I wasn’t
looking to write children’s
books to make money or have
them published. In fact, I wrote
my first children’s book in 1993
and it wasn’t until 2004 that I
tried to get any of my children’s
books published. I simply wrote
the kinds of books I as a parent
felt good about reading to my
kids and the kinds of books my
kids loved--and that was
enough.
I think one of the reasons I’ve
written so many books is that I
wasn’t really trying to write and
then sell my work. I was just
writing what I loved to write and
what my kids loved. That
approach to just writing what I
loved carried over into my
nonfiction writing as well.
What do you enjoy most
about being an author?
Robert: The blank page
scares many writers. I love the
blank page. It’s a new canvas
for my words and I love filling it.

I know writer’s block is
something most writers
experience, but in 30 years of
writing I never have. I like to
think it’s because I absolutely
love sitting at the keyboard and
creating something new.
I know it’s also because I’m
always working on several
things at once. I love that about
being an author too. When I
write children’s books, I dream
up the words, the art. I create
the cover. I set the type on the
page. When I write fiction, I
create the characters, develop
their backstories, and give
them a world to play in. When I
write nonfiction, I scope the
work, develop the flow of
topics, and write what I know.
You have a military
background and you are
quite accomplished which I
know takes a lot of
organization, does your
background help you stay
organized and allow you to
do all these wonderful