All field agents have some cowboy in them – even the ones from New York.

What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It's not good at much else.

Two questions form the foundation of all novels: "What if?" and "What next?" (A third question, "What now?", is one the author asks himself every 10 minutes or so; but it's more a cry than a question.) Every novel begins with the speculative question, What if "X" happened? That's how you start.

Morituri non cognant, perhaps. Those who are about to die — just don't know.

Learn to write the same way you learn to play golf. You do it and keep doing it until you get it right.

Once you stop believing in Santa Claus, the whole world just goes downhill.

They fought their first action in March of 1775. Embarked on eight small ships, they sailed to the Bahamas and captured a British fort near Nassau, seizing gunpowder and supplies. Later, during the Revolutionary War, Marines fought several engagements in their distinctive green coats, such as helping George Washington to cross the Delaware River, and assisting John Paul Jones on the Bonhomme Richard to capture the British frigate Serapis during their famous sea fight.