My husband is actually the nicest guy in the world. He's my sweetheart and best friend, and one of the things I love best about him is that no matter how terrible I look - and believe me, it can get bad - he makes me feel pretty.

The moment I finish 'any' book, my feels are pretty much the same. Goes a little something like this: It's done? Whimper. Tears of joy. Oh, my back. Relief! Shower! Food! Sleep! Oh, my back. You mean I get to catch up on my favorite TV shows? Tears of joy. Oh, my back.

I just write the characters the way I see them. And maybe that's because I'm surrounded by the most amazing men,from my father to my husband to all of my brothers. They are true heroes!

To be honest, I rewrote 'Wicked Nights' a number of times. I just wasn't happy with the end result.

The prize for ultimate inefficiency goes to America. We have built in so many checks and balances that our 'leaders' are the most thoroughly hogtied of any on Earth.

What our leaders and pundits never let slip is that the terrorists - whatever else they might be - might also be rational human beings; which is to say that in their own minds they have a rational justification for their actions.

I mean, as a coach, as a leader of an organization, you represent your fan base and everybody that works and all that, and that's passion.

The United States is a leader across a broad range of scientific disciplines. Our technological prowess is part of our greatness as a nation. Sadly, among the rich industrialized nations, we also lead by a substantial margin in the rate of poverty among children.