Kevin Kwan

There are old-money Asians that would never be caught dead with a Chanel handbag or sporting anything that has a label it.

If I were to generalize a bit, I would say that the ultra rich in Asia live on a scale that far surpasses the wealthy in the U.S. or Europe.

Such huge money has been made in China - it can be hundreds of millions in a year - and there's a need to validate it by showing what they can buy and how much of it.

I had siblings from South Asia, from East Asia, from depressed communities around America, and you know, we'd have long conversations.

Well, I actually wrote her a letter a couple of days ago congratulating her. The tone I tried to convey in the letter is, look, you are a part of a great American historical process.

Most detective story readers are an educated audience and know there are only a certain number of plots. The interest lies in what the writer does with them.