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.

I've always thought it was important not to attach too much superstition to the space where you're writing, because once you get into the mindset that you can only do it a certain way in a certain place, your creativity can get blocked.

Find something you really love doing and mix it with something you really care about. That's why I've had such longevity as an artist. I really, really care about ending violence against women, and I really, really love playing music. It's super enjoyable!

When there were financial difficulties they still managed to provide us with music and art lessons.

Complex tasks are often better handled in the back of our mind, and that's often true of creative tasks - when you have something complex to deal with in writing or research or responding to an email. I'll start working, put it aside, and sometimes I'll wake up the next morning with a solution, or I'll find one when I exercise.