[The inspiration that comes to authors of fiction] is not an act of intelligence.

Anyone who has a choice and doesn't choose to write is a fool. The work is hard, the perks are few, the pay is terrible, and the product, when it's finally finished, is pure joy.

the first time you are reconciled to the terrible unfairness of disappointment, you are getting old.

Recorded history is wrong. It’s wrong because the voiceless have no voice in it.

When I'm working on a serious and solid book ... I read about a detective novel a day. It's the best legal dope in the world. It makes you feel good until the next morning you can work again.

Having watched herself in the speckled mirror ... she was already shocked beyond surprise at what the flat hand of age could do.

There were valuable first editions of books in the enormous library, most of them had been scribbled in by some idiot named Will H.

There is no shame in ignorance and failing

She lives in a world of her own – a world of – little glass ornaments…

Who are they to give stars or dots? They're Wemmicks just like you."Eli to Punchinello (p. 25)

I think we all strive to push ourselves, to overcome our struggles. And when we do, we get to know ourselves better.

Well, the way things are going, aside from wheat and auto parts, America's biggest export is now the Oscar.

The spine as a whole operates as a functional unit. Each vertabra can affect its neighbor and one portion of the spine may affect or damage other areas of the body.

I know important literary writers who can't get published.

Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.

There’s no accounting for the mysteries of the human heart