Yes, I write. No, I don’t write vampire novels.

Okay, I’m going to open the door to all my followers on this page and reveal just who I am (or am not). Here’s a potpourri of things about me you’ll never read on the pages of “The New York Times.”

I’m a writer and I drink my coffee black.

I prefer nature to neighbors, country to city, and animals to people.

I love food and will eat most anything put in front of me. However, I do have three rules about eating. They are (1) I don’t eat anything that looks back at me when I’m eating it. (2) I don’t eat anything that moves on my plate. (3) I don’t eat anything that is slimy.

I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church. However, I don’t go along with organized religion. I consider myself a spiritual person more than a religious person. In other words, you find God in your heart, not in a building with a bunch of other people.

I don’t align myself with any political parties. I’m politically conservative. I believe in the Constitution and the principles our founding fathers gave us. Give me small government and personal freedom. I’ve never taken or asked for a handout from Uncle Sam. I can take care of myself if left alone to do so. I don’t like politics: I don’t believe or trust politicians; and I am not a politically correct person.

I dress for comfort, not to impress. Jeans and khakis, cargos preferred. I don’t wear anything that needs ironing or dry cleaning, and most of my clothes come from the thrift store. The last time I remember wearing a suit and tie was around 1988. I don’t like boxers and not fond of pajamas. There was a time when underwear was optional.

I love just about any music that was produced before 1975. After that, I’m a little more selective. I like “roots” music, old blues, country, folk, etc. I like rock music that has a dominating lyrical presence and I sometimes like to listen to classical music.

I love good movies. I prefer independent productions over big Hollywood films. I also like short films, and I’m a fan of zombie movies. My taste in films is somewhat eccentric. For example, one of my favorite movies is “The Corndog Man.” Don’t let the title fool you. This is a movie with a lot of social importance. I haven’t watched TV in almost three years.

I love photography and video. I like playing with cameras and I own around 25 different cameras and camcorders, both old and new. Mostly old, though.

I have a passion for books. Currently, I have approximately 20,000 books of fiction. That does not include poetry, my collection of classics, nonfiction, and Kindle books. More than 20,000 novels; that’s a lot of books. When hearing this, the first thing people ask is, have I read all of them? No, I haven’t. But I’m familiar with each one. My collection represents some of the finest writing (and some bad stuff thrown in for good measure) in the world from hundreds of brilliant authors from A-Z, Walter Abish to Markus Zusak to be exact. When I’m looking for inspiration, I just go to my library, and I just have to be there and do nothing and inspiration finds me. I have no favorite book and no favorite author. I have many. I am not a book collector. I am a book lover. Books are a part of me. That’s just how it is.

You won’t hear me complain. I have the companionship of a beautiful wife and plenty of cats and dogs. I have a house full of books and music, and a garden for solitude. I’ve found my call in life and it is a worthy one. I have memories and experiences that have made me wise and strong in character and I have a craziness that keeps me sane. So you won’t hear me complain. Unless, of course, I have to go shopping. I hate shopping.

That’s it for now. I will save the rest for my memoir, if I ever write it.