"I came in with the Sixties. I was born and raised in Sacramento. I've been a lover of fantastic fiction all of my life, probably starting with the old Batman comics from the Fifties that I used to read in my cousin's basement when I was four. My influences are quite varied, and include George MacDonald Fraser and Roger Zelazny. The biggest influence for The Action Figure, however, was probably the 1966 Sears Christmas Catalog--the debut, at least for me, of Captain Action--and all of the super hero toys and action figures that I've collected since. I'm currently living in Phoenix and working as a Software Test Engineer, a job I've been doing for the past sixteen years. I hope to someday make writing stories my job. I have a wife, two dogs, and two small children that are
the reason--besides writing--that I get out of bed every morning."

Howard can be reached at hnpmartin@cox.net