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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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