In order to hold your faith intact be sure it's kept unsullied by fact.

The other thing that I got back then - the Parker novels have never had much of anything to do with race. There have been a few black characters here and there, but the first batch of books back then, I got a lot of letters from urban black guys in their 20s, 30s, 40s. What were they seeing that they were reacting to? And I think I finally figured it out - at that time, they were guys who felt very excluded from society, that they had been rejected by the greater American world.

When the guy with asthma finally came in from the fire escape, Parker rabbit-punched him and took his gun away.

My work schedule has changed over the years. The one constant is, when at work on a novel, I try to work seven days a week, so as not to lose touch with that world. Within that, I'm flexible on hours and output.

In order to hold your faith intact be sure it's kept unsullied by fact.

All of the changes in publishing since 1960 are significant. There are far fewer publishers.

Hoke Moseley is a magnificently battered hero. Willeford brings him to us lean and hard and brand-new.