In 1974, William Diehl faced an unhappy 50th birthday. The Los Angeles Times' Elaine Woo writes:

He had no permanent job and was on his second marriage in 1974 when he turned 50. Someone had given him a party with an ice-cream cake shaped like a typewriter, an allusion to Diehl's long-held dream of becoming a novelist.

The cake, too pretty to eat, melted into a gooey mess, which struck Diehl as a metaphor for his life.

"I'd been working for 30 years and what did I have to show for it?" he recalled thinking when he beheld the cake.

The next day, he sold all his cameras, borrowed $5,000 from his best friend, and resolved to launch his best and final career.

That move turned out well. Diehl went on to publish nine popular novels, including "Sharky's Machine" and "Primal Fear," which were both made into movies.

He died November 24, 2006 at the age of 81.