Post-apocalyptic novels tell you that in the future there is some great war. I would tell you that most cops say that it's going on right now.

I loved ghost stories, creaky staircases, stormy nights. If it guaranteed nightmares I read it by flashlight, after midnight.

Women cry. Men laugh. Whiners moan. Men laugh. Wimps complain. Men laugh.

My secret vice is Sudoku puzzles. Can't stop playing them. My parents are accountants. I blame them entirely.

I'm unique for a suspense author in that I don't have a specialty background. A lot of suspense writers used to be lawyers or crime beat reporters. I didn't even know a cop when I started out. I finally figured out that I could visit prisons - I just had to be willing to make the phone calls.

Whomever speaks first gives up some power.

When it comes to locations, I'm one of those crazy authors who has to see it, touch it, taste it, before I trust myself to recreate it for my readers. Having said that, visiting a locked-down pediatric psych ward was the most intimidating research I've ever done - and I've visited maximum security prisons, shooting galleries, bone collections, etc.