The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote that when you look into the darkness of the abyss the abyss looks into you. Probably no other line or thought more inspires or informs my work.

When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.

There were a billion lights out there on the horizon and I knew that all of them put together weren't enough to light the darkness in the hearts of some men.

If you stare at someone long enough, they'll eventually look back at you.

The bottom line is that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And I have to believe from past experience and knowledge that some of the links in Homeland Security are weak. Part of the story in "Lost Light" is about a weak link in the chain.

I wrote my first real murder story as a journalist for the Daytona Beach News Journal in 1980. It was about a body found in the woods. Later, the murder was linked to a serial killer who was later caught and executed for his crimes.