We are all told to ignore bullies. It's something they teach you, and they can teach you anything. It doesn't mean you learn it. It doesn't mean you believe it. One should never ignore bullies. One should stop them.

When I was researching my very first novel, "The Basic Eight," I was calling right-wing political and religious organizations and asking them to mail me their material so that I could mock them in my novels.

You should never stick something that you are allergic to into your mouth, especially if that thing is cats.

This is my knife. It is very sharp and very eager to hurt you.

My general writing preface is to write an outline and then ignore about half of it, both on a micro level with the individual book, and on a macro level with the series as a whole, and that's pretty much what's happened.

There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.

When do you learn that the world, like any diner worth its salt, is open twenty-four hours a day?