There are two kinds of people: the ones who need to be told and the ones who figure it out all by themselves.

I just finished reading the Koran, and there's nothing in there I didn't hear in Sunday school.

It's not right to say that our loss in Vietnam turned out to be a gain. But lessons were learned. And they were the right lessons.

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.

I wanted to see my name on the cover of a book. If your name is in the Library of Congress, you're immortal.

Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die.

You learn to write the same way you learn to play golf... You do it, and keep doing it until you get it right. A lot of people think something mystical happens to you, that maybe the muse kisses you on the ear. But writing isn’t divinely inspired – it’s hard work.