Much of my early reading was devoted to folklore and the likes of Mark Twain. Tall tales, with their hyperbole and outlandish plots, seem to have had an effect on my writing. I hearken back to the days when television was a minimal presence in American life. People used to sit around and tell tales, particularly the older relatives who would come over and entertain with stories. The themes you choose to write about seem to rise from regional roots to encompass universal concerns.
Themes rise out of character organically.
I think no matter what character a writer chooses he's going to write about the same themes, because a writer's favorite thematic concerns arise no matter what the story line is, no matter what characters are chosen. Your characters are so real and so vividly rendered that they seem to live on long after the story is finished. For description, as far as characters are concerned, I try to use unique details rather than a bland inventory of a character's experience. Movement becomes a language unto itself. I have no particular method in mind when I choose names.