But you were a goody-goody, you said.' 'Even goody-goodies think about such things. In fact, I would say that's what defines us. We're always thinking about the things we don't dare do, figuring out where the lines are drawn, so we can go right up to the edge of things, then plead innocence on the ground of a technicality.

As for music, my tastes are eclectic. Elvis Costello is my all-time favorite. I listen to a lot of jazz, primarily the great female vocalists, and I am very fond of the late cabaret singer Nancy Lamott.

Anyone can love a perfect place. Loving Baltimore takes some resilience.

In fact, I think every book I've written has been inspired by a real event.

Whatever you want, at any moment, someone else is getting it. Whatever you have, someone else is longing for.

I'm a morning person, which is a hideous thing to be. No one likes morning people, not even other morning people.

I'm at the age most people are sending their kids off to college.