meaning of life thrillers & other things

Bookselling This Week has an excellent short interview with Sean Stewart, king of the search opera:

BTW: Perfect Circle is dedicated to your family. And family -- both living and dead -- serves to drive much of the plot. Is the novel something of an homage to your clan?

SS: Absolutely. Growing up spending the summers in Texas, and the rest of the year in Canada, left me with a kind of insider/outsider perspective on Texas, I think. And if, sometimes, that outsider's eye acknowledges that parts of Texas, or even my family, can look pretty strange to the rest of the world -- I'm thinking for instance of the Commandos For Christ, a travelling troupe of military evangelists who break cinder blocks with their heads for the greater glory of Jesus -- I hope I have also communicated some of the genuine love and affection I feel for the kin that took such good care of me every summer as I was growing up.... But if you are really asking, which of these characters are really taken from your family members? the answer is a) all; b) none; and c) I'm not telling.

That bit in the book about the grandparents all being on e-mail to exchange family gossip is true, and, like my Daddy said, I may be dumb, but I ain't stupid....

I particularly like the parts about how writers evolve.