I needed to address that I've had some profound moral shifts in my own life.

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.

I think the great unspoken theme in noir fiction is male self-pity. It pervades noir movies.

For a much lauded writer, I'm not terribly self-absorbed. In social situations, which are difficult for me - I mean, this is an interview - I'm normally uncomfortable talking about myself.

I would like to provoke ambiguous responses in my readers.

I don't think I will write anything that could be even remotely considered a genre novel from this point on. I think I've graduated.

To me, there's nothing on earth other than women. It's why I get out of bed every morning.