I never thought about doing a sequel when I was actually writing 'The Magicians.' I only ever considered it a standalone.

Stop looking for the next secret door that is going to lead you to your real life. Stop waiting. This is it: there's nothing else.

The main advantage of being a reviewer is that you read a lot. A lot of books get sent to you, and you have an amazing vantage point from which to observe what's going on in contemporary fiction - not only genre stuff, the whole spectrum.

Book tours are excellent things, and one is lucky to get to go on one, but they have a way of leeching away one's will to live.

How often have I met and disliked writers whose books I love; and conversely, hated the books and then wound up liking the writer? Too often.

That’s what death did, it treated you like a child, like everything you had ever thought and done and cared about was just a child’s game, to be crumpled up and thrown away when it was over. It didn’t matter. Death didn’t respect you. Death thought you were bullshit, and it wanted to make sure you knew it.

My book group has one rule: no books for adults. We read young adult fiction only.