Don’t be sad that roses have thorns. Be glad that thorns have Roses. Today’s the day I worried about yesterday and it didn’t happen.
The way to write a thriller is to ask a question at the beginning, and answer it at the end.
I’m a rich man. To have everything you need is the definition of affluence.
I was in the machine. My whole life. Then the machine coughed and spat me out. So I thought, OK, if I’m out, I’m out. All the way out. I was a little angry and it was probably an immature reaction. But I got used to it.
A person less fortunate than yourself deserves the best you can give. Because of duty, and honor, and service. You understand those words? You should do your job right, and you should do it well, simply because you can, without looking for notice or reward.
Writing is showbusiness for shy people. That’s how I see it.
I need a stimulating environment to write because my books are driven at 100 miles per hour at a time.
You see something scary, you should stand up and step toward it, not away from it. Instinctively, reflexively, in a raging fury.
She’s a reflection of my fascination with the diversity of America she’s totally normal in New York, but a freak in Texas. There are dozens of such clashes in America.
They found out about him in July and stayed angry all through August. They tried to kill him in September. It was way too soon. They weren’t ready. The attempt was a failure. It could have been a disaster, but it was actually a miracle. Because nobody noticed.
You do not mess with the special investigators.
Sometimes if you want to know for sure whether the stove is hot, the only way to find out is to touch it.
I’m not afraid of death. Death’s afraid of me.
I wanted readers to be genuinely unsure as to whether she’s telling the truth or lying. It meant making her partly sympathetic, and partly unsympathetic, which wasn’t easy.
I just felt from personal observation that there is nothing more dislocated or alienated than a lifelong military person trying to cope in civilian life. It’s like two completely separate planets.
I had been coming to America very frequently for many, many years, so I had plenty of exposure – and maybe the best kind of exposure, because I think first impressions are very important. Maybe I notice stuff that is just subliminal to people who live here all the time.
What do I miss about the UK? Sadly, almost nothing. Maybe the midnight sun, in June in the north. That’s all.
I felt alienated by the experience and decided to stay away from corporate employment.
Printing currency for foreigners to buy is the best racket a government can get into.
The key to thrillers is vicarious pleasure.