If you have a craftsman's command of the language and basic writing techniques you'll be able to write - as long as you know what you want to say

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.

For me a thriller is a very carefully structured story.

I was editor of my high school literary magazine and a reporter for the school newspaper.

My books are primarily plot driven but the best plot in the world is useless if you don't populate them with characters that readers can care about.

The outline is 95 percent of the book. Then I sit down and write, and that's the easy part.

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