The emotional tone or affect of the tale should be hot and engaged, not remote and dispassionate.

As many authors have said, if the writer is not surprised by events, then chances are that the reader will not be either, and grow bored.

That was asking a lot of my readers, I realized, but I was trying to write the novel I would most enjoy decoding.

Science fiction at its best should be crazy and dangerous, not sane and safe.

Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.

Nurses nurse and teachers teach and tailors mend and preachers preach and barbers trim and chauffeurs haul and parents get to do it all.

I think that I am profoundly influenced by writers who have explored loss, and longing, and fear. Those influences have turned me into a thriller writer, essentially.

Shame is removed through love.

The difference between a winner and a loser - they both failed, but the winner gets back up and does it again and again until it goes his way.

Take life one day at a time because every day is a different day with new challenges.

Either we conform our desires to the truth or we conform the truth to our desires.

One key element to Hitchcock is the drooping jowl. That was crucial because his silhouette is crucial. There is something about his silhouette that became his brand.

There are no weeds, and no worthless men. There are only bad farmers.

I am always trying to find fabrics that are more friendly to the environment - working with Virgin Atlantic, they managed to research into this and find more eco fabrics.