Sunset on the water ought to be a quiet and easy time, but I guess some people can't stand a little silence.

Unfortunately, I don't get to read nearly as much as I want because I'm always working on my own stuff, either the novels or newspaper columns.

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.

One problem with age is that patience begins to ebb.

Every writer scrounges for inspiration in different places, and there's no shame in raiding the headlines. It's necessary, in fact, when attempting contemporary satire. Sharp-edged humor relies on topical reference points.

That's what people do when they find a special place that wild and full of life, they trample it to death.

I still do a weekly opinion column for the Miami Herald, and it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Rotten fish.