Some people say I am the wind that blows the candle out just as the lightning flashes. Other people say I am a gradient, shades of gray to black. I say that I am neither light nor dark—more a shadow that can be seen in both worlds. I like that. Being dark when it is dark, striking a match when my eyes start to hurt. Perhaps, that is how I survived in Las Vegas amidst the false light and plastic — being a shadow. My life partner Ellen often gives me a, who are you really look, when I write the dark, dark, stuff. When I write a story that takes place in a world, she has never imagined. Ellen loves me that way — a bit eerie, unpredictable. I like being out of step. Life is too damn boring otherwise.