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.

Fighting wars is not so much about killing people as it is about finding things out. The more you know, the more likely you are to win a battle.

The tactics...no, amateurs discuss tactics,.... Professional soldiers study logistics.

I do not over-intellectualise the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.

Suspense is achieved by information control: What you know. What the reader knows. What the characters know.

Being a victim is more palatable than having to recognize the intrinsic contradictions of one's own governing philosophy.

Remember, for every shot you fire, someone, somewhere, is making money.