If you'll think about various series you've read, can you think of any instance in which, say, the tenth volume of the series is notably better than the first nine? I can't.

I don't have dry seasons, because I don't allow them.

It's important, I think, for a writer of fiction to maintain an awareness of the pace and shape of the book as he's writing it. That is, he should be making an object, not chattering.

I don't think the problem is that people don't read enough mystery books, but that people don't read.

If I don't have a project going, I sit down and begin to write something - a character sketch, a monologue, a description of some sight, or even just a list of ideas.

Tod Goldberg has long been one of the most interesting writers around, and Gangsterland is his biggest and best book so far.

All writers are mimics, and I'm not interested in picking up somebody else's style or voice.