My mother was a Chinese trapeze artist in pre-war Paris Smuggling bombs for the underground. And she met my father at a fete in Aix-en-Provence; He was disguised as a Russian cadet in the employ of the Axis.

As she walked, she breathed a quick benediction to the patron saint of sleuthing. "Nancy Drew," she whispered, "be with me now.

I like all sorts of things, not necessarily just Victorian. Even though I tend to read a lot of Victorian novels, I like a lot of contemporary stuff.

I pretty much draw the line when people want you to do original music for commercials.

One thing about hanging out with a baby is that you can remember a little bit better what it was like to be a kid, and all the mystery that came along with it.

There's some things there that you just have to draw the line. Some people are just not going to like it. We would hope that everybody would like it.

When you get respect from the people who are buying your music and coming to your shows, there's an expectation that you have to live up to your own standards.