Robert Rotenberg does for Toronto what Ian Rankin does for Edinburgh.
When you work alone, you need to socialize at some level.
I write pretty much anywhere - on planes, in hotel rooms, anywhere in my house.
People with children and people with their own business always pick up a ringing phone.
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.
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.