I am a professor and write on matters of law and ethics for a living. But what is really fun to me is to write fiction -- I still do research, yes, but I love not being tied to the details of the actual world! My main interest is mystery as art and as a way of trying to gain a little insight into life.
Beyond the requirements of work, I read mystery, history, politics and some general fiction. Simple children's stories appeal to me and are very important, I believe, and I have tried my hand at that. But my main goal is to develop an interesting series of mysteries -- reality-based mysteries, not comedic attempts, not chatty and certainly not preachy.