What inspired you to write this book?

Wall Street fiction didn't seem to fit the reality that I saw. I can't enjoy most Wall Street thrillers because the plots are so preposterous. It's like turning off a TV show when the story takes an unbelievable twist. I find it hard to suspend disbelief.

Most of the characters are also unrecognizable, and are typically one-dimensional portraits of greed. There's certainly plenty of greed on Wall Street, but it's only one of many powerful emotions—and not necessarily even the dominant one. People want to be admired, well-liked, have status among their peers. They also want to be challenged and appreciated for what they do. That's what really drives people on Wall Street—and everywhere else for that matter. Financial greed is usually a manifestation of something a lot more interesting.

Can you explain the Wall Street phenomenon you call Trader's Dilemma?

A trader makes a mistake -- big enough to get fired. At that point he has two choices: He can admit his mistake and end his career. Or he can double up on his bets and hope that things turn around. Logically, it makes the most sense to double -- or quadruple -- your bets, since you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

And that's what happens time and time again. Nick Leeson did it at Barings Bank, but for every one we hear about, there are dozens that of cases that get swept under the rug.

The sexual passages in the book are not what you typically find in a genre novel…

Almost all the sex you read about is inevitably the kind where everything works smoothly – even in literary fiction! But we've all had mediocre sex. Sometimes things just don't click. You put up with it for a variety of reasons. Maybe you hope things are going to improve, or bad sex is much better than nothing.

Dating itself is very mysterious. You're always asking: Who is this person? What am I going to uncover as I get closer to them? This book is really a double mystery, an erotic mystery, because Dave's first impression of Susanna is completely off-base.

I should add that the seductions aren't strictly heterosexual. In the course of his pursuit of the murderer, Dave finds himself on both sides of the gay/straight demilitarized zone.

Do you see Wall Street as inherently evil place?

Absolutely not. You need people to help manage your money just as you need dentists to clean your teeth. Sure, there are plenty of sharks out there who want to rip off you off. But there are a lot more people who want to do the right thing for their clients -- because inevitably that will make them look good and bring them more business.

At the same time, you're always earning a fee in the financial services industry, taking out a percentage. At one point you're taking a fair commission for your services, at another you're ripping people off. It's easy fool yourself. That's what happened in the derivatives business over and over again.

Is Wall Street as homophobic as you portray it?

It was certainly that way in 2001, when the book takes place. It was one big high school locker room. Racism wasn't condoned, but sexism and homophobia was rampant. Faggot this, faggot that. If you were gay, you kept it a secret. That leads to one of the central themes of the book: how people try to hide their true identity. In the last few years, I hear things have become a lot better. Let's hope so.