I worked in Hollywood as a reader and a would-be writer for about 6 years before I sold my first story.

As I dictate, other characters come in and the story begins to form, and I really talk the story,

I'll be the first one to admit my first couple of years I was pretty hard on the refs.

Usually, when people get to the end of a chapter, they close the book and go to sleep. I deliberately write a book so when the reader gets to the end of the chapter, he or she must turn one more page.

I will not write about anyplace in the world unless I've been there to personally research it.

If there is any secret to my success, I think it's that my characters are very real to me. I feel everything they feel, and therefore I think my readers care about them.