“I think this guy’s dead,” the coroner said, scooting another inch or two, to be safe.“There’s something wrong here,” Tom said. They both looked at him.“No, I’m pretty sure of it,” the coroner said. “That bullet hole, for one thing. Plus, he’s not breathing. That’s the kind of thing we look for.”

“It doesn't matter what the question is, Alex, the answer is always love”

“Only the mediocre artist is always at his best.”

“A good story is a dream shared by the author and the reader. Anything that wakes the reader from the dream is a mortal sin.”

“Write with love, write with joy, and write with pride.”

“Then she looked at Marius, put on a strange expression and said to him, “Do you know, Monsieur Marius, you’re a very pretty boy?”

“Look,” I said, trying to reason with him despite extensive experience that this rarely worked. “This isn’t a great time. I have my inauguration—” “Coronation.” “—coming up,”