Let me back up a little and tell you why I prefer writing to real life: You can rewrite. A novel, for example, can be cleaned up, altered, trimmed, improved. Life, on the other hand, is one big messy rough draft.

What I love about the thriller form is that it makes you write a story. You can't get lost in your own genius, which is a dangerous place for writers. You don't want to ever get complacent. If a book starts going too well, I usually know there's a problem. I need to struggle. I need that self-doubt. I need to think it's not the best thing ever.

You don't worry about happiness and fulfilment when you're starving.

Frankly I'm fairly boring or fairly busy. Between writing and family, I have little time for anything else.

Life may not always fall into neat chapters, and you may not always get the satisfying ending you're looking for, but sometimes a good explanation is all the rewrite you need.

There are few times that I feel more at peace, more in tune, more Zen, if you will, than when I force myself to unplug.

Years fly by, but the heart stays in the same place.