My novel Sleeping Dog won the Nero Wolfe Award, was nominated for the Edgar, the Shamus and the Anthony, and was named one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Booksellers Association. I'm a co-author, with the Today Show’s Al Roker, of the current comedy-mysteries, The Morning Show Murders and The Midnight Show Murders and the upcoming The Talk Show Murders. My crime fiction column that ran for nearly a decade in the Los Angeles Times merited the 2003 Ellen Nehr Award for Excellence in Mystery Reviewing. I'm also an award-winning drama critic and have written screenplays for such actors as Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen and Roger Moore.