Baktash Khamsehpour is a writer and poet. He has also written many articles & reports. His various works are being published gradually.Below is an Interview with Baktash Khamsehpour (Bahram Iranmand).Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?It goes back to my school days in Iran. I was immensely influenced by the epic stories of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh.What are your five favorite books, and why?I would say "Avesta", "Shahnameh" of Ferdowsi, "Garshaspnameh" of Asadi Tusi, "zwnj;Bahmannameh" of Iranshah, "Darabnameh" of Bighami, "Shahnameh" of Nubakht ....... how many is that? Seems I passed five. I love all books. It's just there is not enough time to read… them all. So you have to settle for the best. Why the named books are my favorites? because "Avesta" is probably one the oldest books in the world if not the oldest. It's a book by "Zarathustra" or "Zoroaster". The rest are all Persian epics.What do you read for pleasure?Everything ranging from science to history and from mythology to philosophy.Describe your desk. How those it look like?Should be clean and neat otherwise it would be hard for me to work.Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?Iran. Oh tremendously. Reading "Sadegh Hedayat" was enough for me. I found his works greatly inspirational. Whenever I read "Hedayat" I had this tremendous urge of picking up a pen and paper to write.What's the story behind your latest book?"Year 8800 AZ" comprises of three futuristic short stories. All three were written back in the late 90's however they'll be released soon in book format. I would just say if you like to take a trip to the 90th millennium you can book your ticket now. I've decided to donate 88% of it's sales to the United Nation's Children Fund, UNICEF.What motivated you to become an author?I've always been an independent writer. Independence of course means freedom. Writers all want to be free and independent. That way they can express and create whatever they wish. A writer has to feel happy and satisfied by his or her works and for that independence and freedom is a necessity.What is the greatest joy of writing for you?To express the new and necessary truths, to make our world a better place, to create something better and maybe the immortality feeling that comes with it.