Once you have invented a character with three dimensions and a voice, you begin to realize that some of the things you'd like him to do to further your plot are things that such a person wouldn't, or couldn't, do.

Contrary to what many writers imply about the process, nobody forces a writer to sell his work to the film industry.

Yes, in my books I do edit myself to keep from becoming the Village Explainer.

I had been writing fiction since I was in eighth grade, because I loved it.

The characters you refer to as predatory and unsavory are useful. They're the ones who make a novel into a thriller. They're active, and most of the common virtues, the signs of a good person, are not.

Being comfortable isn't the way to learn to expand your abilities.

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