When I first started writing the books in the 1980s, all of the female detectives were flawed in some way because they were based on noir characters.

I think it is rather heroic to go into a war zone where everyone is trying to kill you, and you have no way of shooting back.

Most detective story readers are an educated audience and know there are only a certain number of plots. The interest lies in what the writer does with them.

I decided that if I want to write about a female hero in the 1920s, I'm going to have to give her all the advantages I can because she has serious disadvantages in being a woman. I wasn't going to have her cowed or overawed by class, so she had to be titled.

If you doubt that we live in a winner-take-all economy and that education is the trump card, consider the vast amounts the affluent spend to teach their offspring.

They greatly respected scholarship in itself, but they also impressed upon us that there were great opportunities available for those who were well educated. I received my primary and secondary education in Chicago.

I often think about how my sons will come to know about September 11th. Something overheard? A newspaper image? In school? I would prefer that they learn about it from my wife and me, in a deliberate and safe way. But it's hard to imagine ever feeling ready to broach the subject without some impetus.

I am happy to keep working on books because I'm always reading, and I'm always trying to fall in love.