“My wife is troubled by the things I forget. I am troubled by the things she recollects.”

“My greatest qualification for writing fiction was my ability, as a child, to lie with a straight face.”

“Stop worrying whether the grass is greener on the other side. Find out how to own the other side.”

“My life is ruled by four Ws: my writing, my work, my wife, and my whisky. Not necessarily in that order.”

“Thrills are much more about anticipation than action. An unfired bullet is more dangerous than one that has already met its target.”

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step unless you missed it.”

“There is a light within our soul that burns brighter than the sun. And we ignore it.”

“It's not much. You begin by thinking there is something extraordinary about it. But you'll find out, when you've been out in the world a while longer, unhappiness is the commonest thing there is.”

“A man can gasp out his life beside you-and you feel none of it. Pity, Sympathy, sure-but you don't feel the pain. Your belly is whole and that's what counts. A half-yard away someone's world is snu...”