I didn't want to spend the next thirty years writing about bad things happening in the same small town - not least of all because people would begin to wonder why anyone still lives there!

People forget that writers start off being readers. We all love it when we find a terrific read, and we want to let people know about it.

When you read a book, you are letting another person distract your thoughts and work your emotions. If they are adept, there's nothing better than turning off and getting lost.

I've always been drawn to historical fiction.

Like every Southern writer, I thought that I needed to write the next 'Gone With the Wind.'

I have a lot of men who will say to me, 'I don't read books by women, but I like you.'

I always say 'thriller;' if they see you're a woman - and you're a blond woman - people assume you're writing about cats and romances where somebody has died.

Good writers know that crime is an entre into telling a greater story about character. Good crime writing holds up a mirror to the readers and reflects in a darker light the world in which they live.

The most enduring stories in literature generally have some kind of crime at their center, whether it's the bloody butchery of 'Hamlet,' the lecherous misanthropes of Dickens or the lone gunman from 'The Great Gatsby.'

I'm really boring. I get up early. I go to bed early. I don't smoke or drink. I mean, I'll eat a cupcake. I'm just not a crazy, stay-out-all-night sort of person. I love writing.

Feminism has been so co-opted, but the fact is, feminism benefits men as well.

I could type in a closet and be fine. It's just a matter of cocooning myself. Just me and the story.

When I'm on a good go, I can do 12, 13 hours of writing.

I never felt isolated; I just liked being alone. I think that some people are good at being alone, and some people aren't, and as a child, I really liked it.

I read extensively about serial killers and all sorts of things people get up to.

When I was little, my grandmother would take me to church with her, and she would introduce me to people.

I know the cadence of the language and the voice of Atlanta because I've lived here for so long.

As a Southerner, I love obstacles for my characters.

I'm extremely introverted. I used to think it was shyness, but I got over that, so it must be door No. 2. It's still hard for me to be away from home much, and I have to make sure I get lots of time alone in my room when I'm touring.

My typical morning involves some time on the treadmill, but obviously I skip that a lot. Mostly, I wake up, check my email, then get to work on the various interviews and questions and phone calls that come with being an author.

Crafting a piece of gripping, narrative true crime that engages the world is not that different from crafting a piece of crime fiction.

Pushing the boundaries of polite society does not just fall under the purview of crime fiction authors.

Oh, I'm completely OCD about neatness.

The book that first made me want to be a writer is Flannery O'Connor's short story collection 'A Good Man Is Hard To Find.'