i have an editor, henry fender, who is not dazzled by my book sales and is more willing to tell me howmy riding is as opposed to 10 years ago. my mother is relatively unswayed by the house what world. -- by the outside world. she contended that she likes a book, meaning the she didn't like the other two as much. when you have people in your life that keep you in check, it is easier. luckily, i don't have any real power. i am not running a major country or investment back. nk. >> has anything directly happen from one of your articles or one of your books, stories that come back to you that say something change because of it? >> yes, the nature of influence that a writer has is very specific. we don't change the world. what we do is we start conversations and maybe if we are lucky, the conversations well down the road are developed and enhanced and some idea gets by hand of someone who can affect change. there is a piece in "what the dog saw," called million dollar murder. it describes the work of a nguy named phil nagano. he ran the homeless policy and the bush administration and he cha