The first day of the rest of my life.

You see something scary, you should stand up and step toward it, not away from it. Instinctively, reflexively, in a raging fury.

Writing is showbusiness for shy people. That's how I see it.

This was like July 13th, 1943, the pivotal day of the Battle of the Kursk. We were like Alexander Vasilevsky, the Soviet general. If we attacked now, this minute, we had to keep on and on attacking until the enemy was run off his feet and the war was won. If we bogged down or paused for breath even for a second, we would be overrun again.

I don't care about the little guy. I just hate the big guy. I hate big smug people who think they can get away with things.

I always wanted to be in the world of entertainment. I just love the idea of an audience being happy with what I am doing. Writing is showbusiness for shy people. That's how I see it.

It's a kind of zen question: if you write a book and no one reads it, is it really a book?