I think the only boundaries are individual and personal. A writer should be free to write about anything he or she wants to, including the twin towers. I have made small references to 9/11 in my past two books.

I feel I'm functioning at some level as a journalist because even though I write fiction, I'm trying to get the world accurate.

Los Angeles was the kind of place where everybody was from somewhere else and nobody really droppped anchor. It was a transient place. People drawn by the dream, people running from the nightmare. Twelve million people and all of them ready to make a break for it if necessary. Figuratively, literally, metaphorically -- any way you want to look at it -- everbody in L.A. keeps a bag packed. Just in case.

Any writer would rather dig into character than dig into fancy plots.

Money. The ultimate motivation. The ultimate way of keeping score.

Momentum was momentum, whether you found it in music or on the street or in the beat of your own heart.

Don't go growing a conscience on me," I said. "I've been down that road. It doesn't lead you to anything good.