rain slowly slides down the glass as if the night is crying.

I hate the term "mystery". That's not what I write. I think the Scarpetta novels are much more character-driven than an average puzzle solver. Writing should be like a pane of glass - there's another world on the other side and your vision carries you there, but you're not aware of having passed through a barrier to get there.

Even if you are a best-seller you feel insecure because it is all so unpredictable.

Leaves covered pavement like soggy cereal.

I'm always surprised when large numbers of people buy my books.

When I was in second grade, my mother moved from Miami to this evangelical conservative environment in western North Carolina, two miles down the road from Billy Graham and his wife, Ruth.

I won't put myself in a position where I'm vulnerable.