The desire to write a novel is the single required prerequisite for writing a novel.

A love story, at least a convincing one, requires three elements - the lover, the beloved, and the adventures they have together.

Is human nature basically good or evil? No economist can embark upon his profession without considering this question, and yet they all seem to. And they all seem to think human nature is basically good, or they wouldn't be surprised by the effects of deregulation.

Novelists never have to footnote.

I thought I might write mysteries for the rest of my life.

Ignorance is a self-generating state of mind; one of its characteristics is that it doesn't recognize itself as ignorance.

I loved the house the way you would any new house, because it is populated by your future, the family of children who will fill it with noise or chaos and satisfying busy pleasures.