I begin by assembling notes on characters. Large swaths of the plot become clear to me as I do this.

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

I like to be alone so I can write. But focus can hurt you. I don't want to be some stress casualty in early middle age.

And the only forms of socialism in the world that were then getting results - malign ones, as it was - were the Fascist and Soviet republics. Fascism is a form of socialism - you rebuild the country, you find a scapegoat, and you go from there.

It's all sex for me. Politics is sex. Race is sex. It's the novel. It's the novel!

I've been tremendously moved by a bunch of odd books. Ross McDonald is very important to me. I love the Lew Archer books.

As critical acclaim and response has built up, every interview I give is a chance to puncture the myth I've created about my work and refine it.