'Wire' co-creator happy with calm home

MARTINSBURG, W.Va., July 6 (UPI) -- Ed Burns, who helped create the gritty, violent TV series "The Wire," says he is very content with his new rural home in Martinsburg, W.Va.

The 61-year-old screenwriter says his new environmentally friendly home offers him a calming place to create such fictional works as "The Wire," an HBO series about crime in Baltimore, The New York Times reported Sunday.

"It's a good place," Burns said. "It's peaceful. It's a good place to write."

Burns -- a Vietnam veteran, former public school teacher and police detective from Baltimore -- created the series, whose run officially ended in March, with former police reporter David Simon.

Yet Burns admits he prefers to leave the promotions for the pair's creations, including the new mini-series "Generation Kill," to his creative partner.

"I'm something of a loner," he said. "I have all these stories going around in my head, so I spend time with them."

The Times said the first of seven episodes of "Kill," which follows U.S. Marines in Iraq, is set to premiere on HBO next Sunday.