If. A two-letter word for futility.

What I do is put my characters into situations that are so precarious there is no way to get out. And then I figure how to get them out.

I always spend time exploring the customs and attitudes of the countries I'm using for locations, and interviewing the people who live there. I've visited over 90 countries thus far.

you are my sun, and if the sun went out, the shadow would die.

Coleridge wrote, "Dreams are no shadows, but the very substances and calamities of my life.

Life is like a novel. It's filled with suspense. You have no idea what is going to happen until you turn the page.

The part of my writing I find the most rewarding is when people write to me or speak to me in public to tell me how his or her life has been changed by my books.