Most unfortunately, Enron's plunge into bankruptcy court also cost many of its rank-and-file employees their savings.

Enron Field in Houston, the Trans World Dome in St. Louis and PSINet Stadium in Baltimore are just three of the modern-day coliseums named for companies that have found new homes in bankruptcy court.

Enron had already collapsed and filed for bankruptcy protection by the beginning of 2002. But despite complaints from short sellers that corporations had used accounting gimmickry to inflate their profits, many investors thought the crisis at Enron was an isolated case.

I don't want to see them left high and dry just like the Enron employees were left high and dry without any pension funds, without any retirement security,

Also, most people read fiction as an escape - and I wonder whether my books aren't a bit too grounded in reality to reach the widest possible audience.

My concern is for current and former Enron employees and other stockholders, and I feel it is in their best interest for me to step down from the board.