I like thrillers when they are a little bit more - or a lot more - than just thrillers. Writers are story tellers but should also be door openers. Our job is to take readers beyond the boundaries of their daily lives. This includes breaking the rules of their preferred literary genre.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not pretending to be the first writer with this kind of ambition. We choose a given genre because we feel comfortable with it or because we think it's easier to sell there. But we all wish that readers and critics recognize us for being "just" great writers.

I am who I am when I'm not a writer and there's nothing fancy about it. I will not explain here the kind of family I have and the kind of things I do when I'm not writing. Who really cares in the end? I don't know if John Steinbeck had kids and if he listened to any music. Do you?