I do want to write about Jane Whitefield again, but only when I have a good enough idea - something I've figured out about her that's news and that's worth a reader's time.

I do try not to spend much time reading in the suspense genre.

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

But at the same time, the commonplace statement about them is true: every character is the hero of his own story. Each has a justification for his actions that is convincing to him. It's fun to give these people voices.

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

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

What I look for in any character, good or bad, is whether I can hear him speak. If I can imagine him that clearly, then I can write about him.