“Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility.”

“I love the sound of words, the feel of them, the flow of them. I love the challenge of finding just that perfect combination of words to describe a curl of the lip, a tilt of the chin, a change in the atmosphere. Done well, novel-writing can combine lyricism with practicality in a way that makes one think of grand tapestries, both functional and beautiful. Fifty years from now, I imagine I’ll still be questing after just that right combination of words.”

“A violent act pierces the atmosphere, leaving a hole through which the cold, damp draft of its memory blows forever.”

“One need only posit some threat to the public tranquility and any action can be justified. All the horrors of the reign of terror were based on concern for public tranquility.”

“It didn't take a trauma to make you wear a mask. It didn't take your parents getting shot...or cosmic rays or a power ring...Just the perfect combination of loneliness and despair.”

“Perfect does not mean perfect actions in a perfect world, but appropriate actions in an imperfect one.”