Two of the first "real" authors I read when I was young were Alistair MacLean and Rex Stout, and those remain favorites. Today, for personal reading, there are several mystery authors I enjoy; for non-fiction, I jump around a bit depending on what I'm interested in. (At the moment, suiseki and dragonflies, go figure.) In 2004, I self-published my first print-on-demand book, on cryptozoology. Since then, I've added several other of my own titles, a fair number by other authors, and a whole lot of reprints (both public domain and licensed). Titles can be seen at www.coachwhipbooks.com. I currently live in Ohio.