One generation's idea of fast pace might be different from a later generation's.

" ... What if?" Through the alchemy of those two words, something new comes into the world.

When I teach writing, I have a mantra: Be a first-rate version of yourself, and not a second-rate version of another writer.

His name was Rambo, and he was just some nothing kid for all anybody knew, standing by the pump of a gas station at the outskirts of Madison, Kentucky.

A thriller becomes great when it carries a feeling of reality and truth.

There are no inferior types of fiction, only inferior practitioners of them.

As long as thriller authors teach us about our world, they'll be relevant.

Your obligation as writers is to distinguish yourself. … The ultimate result should be a book that you write that no one else could have written.

At their best, thrillers not only entertain. Ideally they also reflect the society in which they are set, analyzing our fears and how we perceive the world.

A thriller must be thrilling. A mystery may or may not be a thriller depending on how much breathless emotion it has, as opposed to cerebral calculation.

People who know various movie versions don't really know the story.

I want art that makes the world seem more unreal. I want fiction that can crumble the world and build it back into something new.

It was only when the salt water of my tears ran into my cuts and made them stingthat I discovered I was crying.

We're better off not worrying about ourselves, and to do that, we have to worry about others.

We met last fall, and dreamt of summer days together. Winter came, and when you left, Winter stayed.

A society which has poor people on its streets is a failed society!

I once caught a bid, I never hit skid, Never date a girl if the girl got a kid. Nahhh...papa's got a brand new bag And I never hit skinz once they sag.

I think that the coalition that President [Barack] Obama put together to win twice is a coalition that I can put together and add to.

I always liked making things, and then I fell into animation. And then luck comes into it as well.

You can never prepare yourself enough to see your mug shot and DUI.

On my first trip to India, my guru took me to an ashram in Allahabad. I felt like I was walking into a place I had been before. It felt like it was my spiritual home.