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.
Being comfortable isn't the way to learn to expand your abilities.
Reading a novel in which all characters illustrate patience, hard work, chastity, and delayed gratification could be a pretty dull experience.
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.
I do like to explore evil characters in my books.
I don't have dry seasons, because I don't allow them.
Much of what we do in life has a huge component of luck.
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.
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.
I do try not to spend much time reading in the suspense genre.
All writers are mimics, and I'm not interested in picking up somebody else's style or voice.
Contrary to what many writers imply about the process, nobody forces a writer to sell his work to the film industry.
I do hope to bring Jane Whitefield back before too long.
I don't consciously do anything to maintain a unique voice.
I don't think the problem is that people don't read enough mystery books, but that people don't read.
I had been writing fiction since I was in eighth grade, because I loved it.
I held a variety of jobs - most notably ten years working in universities - and kept on writing.
It was a lot of fun, and writing a series is comfortable. It's almost like having a secure job.
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.
When I write a book, I'm making it the best book I can.
Yes, in my books I do edit myself to keep from becoming the Village Explainer.
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 do have to earn a living, so I'm conscious of probable reactions from readers, but the most important one is still the awareness that if I'm not enjoying a story, the reader won't either.
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 think we did a great job of putting together a program that would have made good e-books available had people been buying e-books in any real numbers.
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 was very impressed with the paintings. The subject matter that she uses is very clear and her style of painting that I saw was something that really appealed to me.
When producers make a film, their responsibility is to make the best film they can, not necessarily to faithfully reproduce my book.
And yes, I'm also traveling more, not only to promote DEAD AIM, but also on other public appearances. This is partly because I want to make up for not doing it in the past.
I'm proud of Nightlife. Although it won't be published until March 2006, the first review just appeared in Publishers' Weekly, and it's very positive.
You have very accurately described the difficulty of presenting my books on film: many of my characters are alone most of the time, and when they do talk, what they say is mostly lies. That can make for a pretty confusing film.
There are days when I intentionally don't write. For instance, I never write when I'm traveling, because travel is a situation where I can learn more by looking and listening than by working.
Tod Goldberg has long been one of the most interesting writers around, and Gangsterland is his biggest and best book so far.
There is no place so benighted and godforsaken that some moron won't go there on vacation. People could be living in an open sewer and swallowing dirt to stop the hunger, and there'd be a couple from Larchmont wearing comfortable shoes there to take pictures of them.
