
Bill's dad loved to tell ghost stories to him and his cousins, Wade and Gary. Paul also got Bill to explore the works of Poe and Lovecraft.

By the time Bill was a high school junior, he was already writing poetry on a regular basis. His first real poem, "Frank Luke," he wrote in Mrs. Johnston's freshman English class.

Bill visits Ernest Hemingway's home in Key West. Hemingway's book IN OUR TIME had a big influence on Bill's early fiction.