I'm very much aware in the writing of dialogue, or even in the narrative too, of a rhythm. There has to be a rhythm with it … Interviewers have said, you like jazz, don’t you? Because we can hear it in your writing. And I thought that was a compliment.

Never use an adverb to modify the verb 'said' . . . he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange.

I get letters. I get several a week, I think. A lot of people want a picture, a lot of people just want an autograph.

Bad guys are not bad guys twenty-four hours a day.

I never see my bad guys as simply bad. They want pretty much the same thing that you and I want: they want to be happy.

After 58 years you'd think writing would get easier. It doesn't. If you're lucky, you become harder to please. That's all right, it's still a pleasure.

Avoid prologues: they can be ­annoying, especially a prologue ­following an introduction that comes after a foreword.