Michael Romkey lives near the Mississippi River in Bettendorf, Iowa, with his wife, Carol, cats Cleopatra, Otto and Lisa, and a reptile named Sparky. He is author of the horror cult classic, “I, Vampire,” and a host of other novels. In addition to being a writer, he is a newspaper editor, musician and producer.
He likes:
- Reading almost anything — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, history, criticism, drama, opinion pieces, economics, Levenger catalogs, Vanity Fair stories about High Society crimes committed 75 years ago.
- Writing.
- Music — playing it, hearing it, writing it, arranging it, preforming it. Irish fiddle tunes. The symphony. Mandolins. Violins. Guitars. Mandolas. Recording and mixing.
- Philosophy.
- Anglicanism.
- Making lists.
- Checking things off lists.
- Observing things about people and noting them in a red Moleskine notebook. For example, the woman he passed on the street who seemed on the verge of hysteria.
- Drawing pictures of leaves, though he’s not very good at drawing.
- Keeping loose track of the liturgical calendar — when it’s the Feast of St. Matthew and so forth. Patti Smith likes to do the same thing. Look it up.
- Collecting odd license plate sightings. He saw a license plate the other day on a black Chrysler with dark-tinted windows that said: “B3A5T”. That was disturbing.
- Sailing.
- Talking walks.
- Not taking himself too seriously.