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.

One thing about flying that he never got used to was that no matter how awful the weather was on the ground, if you flew high enough you could always find the sun.

Civilians listened to officers, which said a lot about the intelligence of civilians.

Every novel begins with the speculative question, What if "X" happened? That's how you start.

Privacy and loneliness were the traditional luxuries accorded to a skipper.

I'd rather talk to people who do things than complain about other people who do things. I say they're idiots.

We cannot fail to win unless we fail to try.