Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Sometimes I claim I write because I put in an application at Sears and they've never called back.
He might be a man without character, but she was a woman without courage. Of the two, which was worse?
After my years in Hollywood, I got tired of apologizing for work that really wasn't mine to begin with.
Society values cooperation over independence, obedience over individuality, and niceness above all else.
Ghosts don't haunt us. That's not how it works. They're present among us because we won't let go of them.
Having reached the halfway mark in the alphabet, my prime focus is on writing each new book as well as I can.
The hard thing about death is that nothing ever changes. The hard thing about life is that nothing stays the same.
Insecure people have a special sensitivity for anything that finally confirms their own low opinion of themselves.
Writing isn't about the destination-writing is the journey that transforms the soul and gives meaning to all else.
If I'd been listening closely, I'd have caught the sound of the gods having a great big old tee-hee at my expense.
There's a certain class of people who will do you in and then remain completely mystified by the depth of your pain.
I started writing seriously when I was 18, wrote my first novel when I was 22, and I've never stopped writing since.
You kill people you hate or you kill in rage or you kill to get even, but you don't kill someone you're indifferent to.
I spent the first twenty years of my writing career preparing for the mystery genre, which is my favorite literary form.
It's disconcerting to realize how little you have to say to someone who once occupied such a prominent place in your bed.
Age plays cruel tricks on the human face; all our repressed feelings become visible on the surface, where they harden like a mask.
I think you'd best make your peace with the past since you've come this far. I think you know by now that you won't go back again.
I figure guys are like Whitman's Samplers. I like to take a little bite out of each and then move on before the whole box gets stale.
No one with a happy childhood ever amounts to much in this world. They are so well adjusted, they never are driven to achieve anything.
Personally, I don't endorse the notion of mortality. It's fine for other folk, but I disapprove of the concept for me and my loved ones.
It is a truth of human nature that we can ponder life's mysteries for only so long before we lose interest and move on to something else.
Beware the dark pool at the bottom of our hearts. In its icy, black depths dwell strange and twisted creatures it is best not to disturb.
It's been my observation, after years in the [insurance] business, that a certain percent of the population simply can't resist the urge to cheat.
For the record, I'd like to say that I'm a big fan of forgiveness as long as I have a chance to get even first" Kinsey Millhone, V is for Vengeance
A woman should never, never, never be financially dependent to anyone, especially a man, because the minute you were dependent, you could be abused.
The memory is like orbiting twin stars, one visible, one dark, the trajectory of what's evident forever affected by the gravity of what's concealed.
Sometimes being fooled by love is worth the price. At least you know you're alive and capable of feeling, even if all you end up with is chest pain.
I focus on the writing and let the rest of the process take care of itself. I've learned to trust my own instincts and I've also learned to take risks.
I've never known anyone yet who doesn't suffer a certain restlessness when autumn rolls around... We're all eight years old again and anything is possible.
Lying contains the same hostile elements as a practical joke in that the 'victim' ends up looking foolish in his own eyes and laughable in everyone else's.
The truth is, I could no more dictate her nature than she could dictate mine. Kinsey's happy as she is and she doesn't need to be rescued, improved, or saved.
I don't want to write formula. I don't want to crank these books out like sausages. Every book is different, which takes a hell of a lot of ingenuity on my part.
The character of Rosie is based on a woman who used to live in the same apartment building I lived in many years ago. She's taken on a life of her own, of course.
Writing is not about making a buck, not about publishers and agents. Writing is not about feeling good. Writing is about pain, suffering, hard work, risk, and fear.
Of the first seven novels I wrote, numbers four and five were published. Numbers one, two, three, six, and seven, have never seen the light of day... and rightly so.
There is, apparently, some law of nature decreeing that all home construction must double in its projected cost and take four times longer than originally anticipated.
My primary lesson, however, was that I'm a solo writer, happiest when I'm making all the executive decisions. I've always been willing to rise or fall on my own merits.
Sometimes the hardest part of my job is the incessant reminder of the fact we're all trying so assiduously to ignore: we are here temporarily. Life is only ours on loan.
We all need to look into the dark side of our nature - that's where the energy is, the passion. People are afraid of that because it holds pieces of us we're busy denying.
I write letters to my right brain all the time. They're just little notes. And right brain, who likes to get little notes from me, will often come through within a day or two.
I know there are people who believe you should forgive and forget. For the record, I'd like to say I'm a big fan of forgiveness as long as I'm given the opportunity to get even first.
There are days when none of us can bear it, but the good comes around again. Happiness is seasonal, like anything else. Wait it out. There are people who love you. People who can help.
School was a source of great suffering to me, but once I learned to read, I disappeared into books, where I was a happy visitor to all the worlds that sprang full-blown from the printed page.
At that point, I sat down and made an alphabetical list of all the crime related words I could think of. So here I am now, nearly half-way through, probably tied up until the year 2015 or SO.
I've never written about my husband, Steve, or any of my children because I know them all too well. I see them in all their complexities which makes them impossible to render on the printed page.
You write one book and you're ready for fame and fortune. I don't know that people are spending the time and attention on learning how to write-which takes years. Everybody sees the success stories.
There's really no such thing as an 'ex-cop' or a cop who's 'off-duty' or 'retired.' Once trained, once indoctrinated, a cop is always alert, assessing reality in terms of its potential for illegal acts.
All of us are subjected to somebody else's power at some point. So once in a while you kiss ass. So what? Either you make your peace with that early, or you end up living your life as a crank and a misfit.
Grade school was perilous. ... I can see how I must have worried them. I was the kind of kid who, for no apparent reason, wept piteously or threw up on myself. On an especially scary day, I sometimes did both.
People who've had happy childhoods are wonderful, but they're bland... An unhappy childhood compels you to use your imagination to create a world in which you can be happy. Use your old grief. That's the gift you're given.