The worst thing you can do to someone, the very worst thing, is to keep them hoping.

You not only have changes in personnel, but you have increased involvement from the division of administration as this moves up the ladder which is typical of most state contracts. We have a heavy burden on our end in terms of how this project moves forward and how the taxpayers' dollars are spent.

To say that we have a broad-based job to do is very correct and is something that Secretary (Michael) Olivier and the department take very seriously. We have quite a job in front of us.

When I say 10 days, that means we start working on it right now as soon as this meeting is over. We are very close and have the necessary documents. How we go forward to get it done is going to be determined very quickly.

We are working out what should go where.

We are going to move forward and try to get as many definitive answers and as much input as we possibly can. I think all of us are in agreement that we want to make this something where we have action plans and a decision at that time to go forward as opposed to having a study that recommends certain things. We are trying to be more all-encompassing and get the best bang for the buck.

When I started writing the third book, 'The Kill,' the intention was just to write a thriller, a crime novel for myself, really, in which there would be no body, no solution - where you would look at an event from different people's perspectives.

When I first started writing, I wrote a book called 'Bruiser,' and it was pretty much set in Chicago.

It wasn't my intention ever to leave Chicago, that's for sure.

I definitely saw 'The Kill,' when I started it, as an entertainment.