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L.A. is a place people come to for all sorts of reasons, often to reinvent themselves, and that fascinates me.

For a foreigner, L.A. is such a big, wonderful and weird place that, until you find your niche, you feel a little bit discombobulated.

L.A. is very special to me, so far away from my world on the East Coast, Europe, Asia. It's a bit of an island for me - less intense, less busy; because of time difference and location, it has a calming effect. At least it used to be all that.

L.A. is a very strange place. On the surface, it has an innocent appearance, like the stranger with the pleasant face that smiles and shakes your hand. But then you learn it is actually a lot less nice than you think, and there's a whole deeper, darker level.

I've grown to love L.A., but it's the most socially awkward place. All these people have come there not to be something but to pretend to be someone trying to be someone.

L.A. can be very superficial, and it's hard to meet cool people here. I try to stay away from the glitzy side of the business and have a normal life as much as possible. I keep to myself.

L.A. is an intense industry town, and there's a side of it that's superficial, but I surround myself with the kind of people who don't let me get sucked into that.

L.A. is only where you live, because otherwise it's just a sprawling mass of everything, and I think if you live in L.A., you get a little network of places you go, and people you see, and when you leave town, you do miss those places and your friends.

I love L.A., but you can get into a lot of trouble out here.

Most of my books have something to do with L.A.