Writing went from being a calling to being a job. Business ruined things. It became like making sausages in a sausage factory.

In the end, I'm really interested in people and what we do with our short time here on earth. I'm interested in the human soul.

Borders are liminal spaces. Anyone worthy of the title of 'writer' is a border writer. We all are border people.

A great Chicano forebear of mine in writing is Rolando Hinojosa-Smith. He was writing good border mysteries for Chicano readers back in the '80s and '90s.

Sordid' is rather unique. That's why so many gay fans are comfortable to share 'Sordid Lives' with their families. It's not really a gay story. It's just much more a family story that happens to have gay members, which most people do.

In an industry where you don't always get to see your family as much as you would like, getting to hug your mom after the game is nice.

A lot of my friends in my student days complained about how their parents made them play an instrument when they were kids. I always felt compassion for them and didn't believe a parent could be so cruel, but when I check today, those complaining friends grew up to be quite successful, and many of them are now making their children play.

More than any other setting - more than battlefields or boardrooms or a spaceship headed for intergalactic travel - I'll put my money on the family to provide an endless source of comedy, tragedy and intrigue.