I focus on the writing and let the rest of the process take care of itself. I've learned to trust my own instincts and I've also learned to take risks.

Dream big but think small.

After my years in Hollywood, I got tired of apologizing for work that really wasn't mine to begin with.

That's the way the system works. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.

God save us from the people who want to do what's best for us.

My father taught me to love detective fiction writers such as Raymond Chandler. When I decided to have a hard-boiled detective series I did a lot of studying before I wrote the first book. I learned police procedure, the California criminal law, and many areas outside my expertise.

Emotion doesn't travel in a straight line. Like water, our feelings trickle down through cracks and crevices, seeking out the little pockets of neediness and neglect, the hairline fractures in our character usually hidden from public view.