I don't know anybody in the underworld. I make this stuff up. I don't know any criminals.

I am conservative by temperament. I disapprove of criminal activity. I am very solidly and markedly on the side of authority. The truth is I would rather err on the side of too much authority than too little.

I wanted to portray a newly democratized, enclosed society. I wanted to show how extraordinarily fluid people are in their embrace of other human beings.

You try to learn who you are. You work hard. You've either got it or you don't when it comes to writing books. And you tend to only get these things if you want them, and want them to the exclusion of everything else.

If I wanted to make money I would have written another novel.

I love thinking about American history, thinking about LA history. I love brooding on crime.

I almost had an intransigent mental spirit. I always wanted things.