I don't have any of the modern stuff. I don't have e-mail. I don't have a computer!

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.

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can't allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.

A friend of mine who is in the publishing business knew I was writing a book, and he said, 'Have you said anything yet about the good guy? Because I know you spend so much time with the bad guys.' Because they're fun. So then you have to make the good guy fun, in order to compete. That's the challenge.

I once saw Dizzy Gillespie at a live show, and it made me want to go home immediately and start writing.

I don't have any of the modern stuff. I don't have e-mail. I don't have a computer!

I want the reader to know what's going on. So there's never a mystery in my books.