February 20, 2014

The Florida Everglades Foundation and my friend Rex Hamilton could not have been more helpful in my research for Cane and Abe. This photograph was taken not far from where the opening scene in Cane and Abe takes place.

February 19, 2014

My son Ryan came along with me for the first-class tour through the Everglades. I was deep into my research for Cane and Abe.

February 18, 2014

I tapped the expertise of my friends at the Florida Everglades Foundation to answer this research question: If an oil spill occurred where the Cubans are now drilling (fifty miles from Key West), what would be the impact on the Florida coastline. Here we are in Florida Bay, which feeds directly into the Everglades. It would take a direct hit.

February 10, 2014

Much of the action in "Need You Now" takes place in New York's financial district, and with a last name like "Grippando," how could my research not take me to nearby "Little Italy." We even caught a little snow that afternoon.

February 8, 2014

In "Need You Now," FBI Agent Andie Henning meets with her informat at the statue of Alice in Wonderland in New York's Central Park. My daughter Ainsley (center) didn't seem to notice.

February 7, 2014

Money to Burn was my first financial thriller set in New York, and of course I set one of the most memorable scenes on the skating rink at Rockefeller Center. It also has personal significance: directly behind Ainsley and me, in front of the gold statue of Prometheus, is where I proposed to my wife Tiffany in 1994.

February 4, 2014

I thought long and hard about where Jack Swyteck should live. I found the perfect house in a beautiful old neighborhood near the courthouse and wrote it into "Afraid of the Dark." Six months later, my wife's friend (Kareen) invited us to her house for a Christmas party. As we drove, I started to think, hmm, this is in Jack's neighborhood. We drove a little more. Hmm, this is Jack's steet. We stopped at the curb. It was Jack's house! Here I am with Kareen in her--Jack's--living room.

January 22, 2014

The last half of Afraid of the Dark takes place in London, and my research trip coincided with the Queen's Diamond jubilee. On the day of the boat parade, the city closed down Westminster Bridge. I couldn't resist the opportunityt to walk out onto the bridge and take this selfie.

January 15, 2014

Sometimes you get lucky on research trips, and this specially arranged private tour "behind the scenes" at the Royal Guard made me feel very lucky indeed. In a playful moment, my daughter Ainsley even got to try on the famous bear-fur hat!

January 14, 2014

Ben Mondor, owner of the Pawtucket Red Sox, so loved "Intent to Kill" that he invited my entire family to a special night at McCoy Stadium. The PawSox are themselves a star in "Intent to Kill," and Ben made us feel like stars in the game against the Yankees Triple-A Team. My son Ryan threw out the first pitch, and my name flashed on the scoreboard.