Smile. It gives your face something to do.

Writing isn't about the destination-writing is the journey that transforms the soul and gives meaning to all else.

He might be a man without character, but she was a woman without courage. Of the two, which was worse?

Beware the dark pool at the bottom of our hearts. In its icy, black depths dwell strange and twisted creatures it is best not to disturb.

My father taught me to love detective fiction writers such as Raymond Chandler. When I decided to have a hard-boiled detective series I did a lot of studying before I wrote the first book. I learned police procedure, the California criminal law, and many areas outside my expertise.

Society values cooperation over independence, obedience over individuality, and niceness above all else.

To many women mistake a man's hostility for wit and his silence for depth.