My guys are morally weak, and they reach toward a tenuous knowledge of self-sacrifice, and sometimes it's too late. I find that moving. It's not a life I'd want to live. But, then, I'm not completely my books.

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

I think I'm out of crime fiction now, and I think the dividing line is American Tabloid.

Noir is dead for me because historically, I think it's a simple view. I've taken it as far as it can go. I think I've expanded on it a great deal, taken it further than any other American novelist.

Joe Wambaugh's a friend. I know him only casually, but I like him a lot. I think he likes my books.

I would like to provoke ambiguous responses in my readers.

I learn things late-and only the hard way.