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" I held a variety of jobs - most notably ten years working in universities - and kept on writing. "

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" It's important, I think, for a writer of fiction to maintain an awareness of the pace and shape of the book as he's writing it. That is, he should be making an object, not chattering. "

" I do hope to bring Jane Whitefield back before too long. "

" When I write a book, I'm making it the best book I can. "

" Reading a novel in which all characters illustrate patience, hard work, chastity, and delayed gratification could be a pretty dull experience. "

" I do like to explore evil characters in my books. "

" I think we did a great job of putting together a program that would have made good e-books available had people been buying e-books in any real numbers. "

" The characters you refer to as predatory and unsavory are useful. They're the ones who make a novel into a thriller. They're active, and most of the common virtues, the signs of a good person, are not. "

" Contrary to what many writers imply about the process, nobody forces a writer to sell his work to the film industry. "

" I do try not to spend much time reading in the suspense genre. "

" I don't think the problem is that people don't read enough mystery books, but that people don't read. "

" Much of what we do in life has a huge component of luck. "

" It was a lot of fun, and writing a series is comfortable. It's almost like having a secure job. "

" I do have to earn a living, so I'm conscious of probable reactions from readers, but the most important one is still the awareness that if I'm not enjoying a story, the reader won't either. "

" If I don't have a project going, I sit down and begin to write something - a character sketch, a monologue, a description of some sight, or even just a list of ideas. "

" What I look for in any character, good or bad, is whether I can hear him speak. If I can imagine him that clearly, then I can write about him. "

" But at the same time, the commonplace statement about them is true: every character is the hero of his own story. Each has a justification for his actions that is convincing to him. It's fun to give these people voices. "

" Once you have invented a character with three dimensions and a voice, you begin to realize that some of the things you'd like him to do to further your plot are things that such a person wouldn't, or couldn't, do. "

" I do want to write about Jane Whitefield again, but only when I have a good enough idea - something I've figured out about her that's news and that's worth a reader's time. "

" I don't consciously do anything to maintain a unique voice. "

" There are days when I intentionally don't write. For instance, I never write when I'm traveling, because travel is a situation where I can learn more by looking and listening than by working. "

" I don't have dry seasons, because I don't allow them. "

" Being comfortable isn't the way to learn to expand your abilities. "

" All writers are mimics, and I'm not interested in picking up somebody else's style or voice. "

" If you'll think about various series you've read, can you think of any instance in which, say, the tenth volume of the series is notably better than the first nine? I can't. "