Catering is extremely demanding financially and physically. It's a business..

After I outlined 'Catering to Nobody,' I went and worked for a caterer. And the other thing I had to do was to talk to the Jefferson County Sheriff's….

When I started to write culinary mysteries, I did it because nobody was doing it anymore..

Writing is work and cooking is relaxing..

I like cream cheese in just about anything..

I'm always astonished to see how badly people can behave when they think no one is noticing..

I told the caterer I'd work for nothing if he'd teach me about catering. I lasted one week full-time. It was exhausting..

In a mystery, the sleuth must be believably involved and emotionally invested in solving the crime..

One thing that improved my cooking skills was being a poor student in California... If you don't have much money, you have to learn to cook..

I wanted to be a literary writer, so I wrote story after story and sent them to 'The New Yorker.'.

What one's goal should be is just to become a better writer and to tell different kinds of stories..