One problem with age is that patience begins to ebb.

Like Richard Price and the late, great Elmore Leonard, Matt Burgess is one of those cool, quick and funny writers who can turn a seemingly routine crime caper into something special.

When I'm working on a novel of my own, I try to read mostly nonfiction, although sometimes I break down and peek at something else.

My humour has always come from anger, but I have to make sure I don't just get angry and jump on a soapbox.

Mrs. Bonneville never buckled her seat belt, even though it was required by state law; an ardent libertarian, she opposed government meddling in all matters of personal choice.

Unfortunately for novelists, real life is getting way too funny and far-fetched.

If you write satire, the guilty pleasure these days is that there's just so much material about. On the other hand, if you have a family it can be depressing.