The best way to learn about writing is to study the work of other writers you admire.

Six Seconds is a great read. Echoing Ludlum and Forsythe, author Mofina has penned a big, solid international thriller that grabs your gut -- and your heart -- in the opening scenes and never lets go.

That's the past for you. Not only does it come back at the most unexpected, and inconvenient, times but it's set in stone.

It's becoming apparent that I like bad boys. That's one of my problems. They've all been bad boys. You're one too. You're a bad boy. But, I think you're a good bad boy.

And life changes. Maybe just a little, maybe a lot. And at some point, it just isn't worth the fight to fix it.

Trying to write books with a subject matter or in a genre or style you're not familiar with is the best way to find the Big Block looming.

Robert Rotenberg does for Toronto what Ian Rankin does for Edinburgh.