That's the irony in the work: the best stories are the worst things that happen. My best times were somebody else's worst.

A newspaper is the center of a community, it's one of the tent poles of the community, and that's not going to be replaced by Web sites and blogs.

The writing ethic was influenced - when you have to write every day, there's no such thing as writer's block.

The characters I write about are very internal.

That's the irony in the work: the best stories are the worst things that happen. My best times were somebody else's worst.

I'm not 'Mr. No-By-The-Book.' I just want to make sure the character is by the book.

I would change very little because I have been very, very fortunate. A lot of things fell into place for me simply by happenstance. When that happens you don't really want to change anything, even if you could. Editorially my regrets are few and for the most part minor. I look back on my first published book and think I held on to it too long, babied it too long.