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

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

You have to follow your own voice. You have to be yourself when you write. In effect, you have to announce, 'This is me, this is what I stand for, this is what you get when you read me. I'm doing the best I can - buy me or not - but this is who I am as a writer.

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

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

Before I start a project, I always ask myself the following question. Why is this book worth a year of my life? There needs to be something about the theme, the technique, or the research that makes the time spent on it worthwhile.

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