I wrote a novel because I had a yen to do it. I believe this is sufficient reason to set out to tell a story.

Living the same sorrows three times was a suffering, but it was a suffering to relive even the same joys. The joy of life is born from feeling, whether it be joy or grief, always of short duration, and woe to those who know they will enjoy eternal bliss.

There is only one thing that you write for yourself, and that is a shopping list.

The followers must feel besieged.

The lunatic is all idée fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.

Deciding what is being talked about is a kind of interpretive bet.

Authors frequently say things they are unaware of; only after they have gotten the reactions of their readers do they discover what they have said