I've sold too many books to get good reviews anymore. There's a lot of jealousy, because [reviewers] think they can write a good novel or a best-seller and get frustrated when they can't. I've learned to despise them.

I looked at her and tried to speak, but all I could think about was how shocked she'd be if I said what I was thinking.

When you work at street level you never know who's going to walk through your door.

I learned that lesson a long time ago. When you write popular fiction, you're going to get bashed by critics.

There's always such a rush to judgment. It makes a fair trial hard to get.

I don't even know what a serious literary critic is.

Still, something about writing made me spend large hours of my free time at my desk.