“Fiction gives us a reach into the lives of individuals that would otherwise be but a closed door. If we are gifted with a desire to tell tales, then we should tell them . . . if only to reach but a few.”

“Who should we be trying to make the most proud? Our family? Our friends? Our teachers or bosses? What about the one who molded us out of the earth itself, who formed us like clay, and instilled within us the very breath of life that shaped the universe?”

“Heart isn’t something you find in soap operas and Harlequin novels. It’s that pure essence–sheltered deep inside–that occasionally makes its way to the surface. Give heed lest it ever trend to waste.”

“If you measure your life by what you own, the cavern of your heart will never be filled.”

“Crime fiction "confirms our belief, despite some evidence to the contrary, that we live in a rational, comprehensible, and moral universe.”

“How horrible to think what we may wish for, lay in anguish for, may be within our reach but we are unable to see them.”

“For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness.”