If I'd been listening closely, I'd have caught the sound of the gods having a great big old tee-hee at my expense.

Life was reduced to its four basic elements: air, food, drink, and a good friend.

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.

It is a truth of human nature that we can ponder life's mysteries for only so long before we lose interest and move on to something else.

The memory is like orbiting twin stars, one visible, one dark, the trajectory of what's evident forever affected by the gravity of what's concealed.

If your mind isn't open, keep your mouth shut too.

Give yourself time to get better.