Quotes By Lee Child

I was fired from my television job, simple as that. Well, downsized, really, a classic 1990s situation.

I've discovered writers by reading books left in airplane seats and weird hotels.

You mustn't fall in love with your own hero.

The way to write a thriller is to ask a question at the beginning, and answer it at the end.

You know, women are as promiscuous as men and yet, of course, people are inhibited from having an affair or a relationship because the real-world consequences are a drag.

For men, as they get bogged down with responsibilities, commitments, bureaucracy, it is a fantasy just to think of shedding everything literally, walking away with nothing at all, and just hitting the road.

What do I miss about the UK? Sadly, almost nothing. Maybe the midnight sun, in June in the north. That's all.

I felt alienated by the experience and decided to stay away from corporate employment.

I have three desks. One empty for paperwork, one for the internet and email, and one for the writing computer.

It's always sad if anybody you know has a personal problem.

My mother still calls me Jim and that is about it. Everyone else calls me Lee. My wife calls me whatever.

I love visiting LA. It's an endlessly fascinating city, and is, of course, America's entertainment capital. Each time I go, I fall in love with it all over again. That said, it's not the sort of place I'd want to live.

I'm opposed to censorship of any kind, especially by government. But it's plain common sense that producers should target their product with some kind of sensitivity.

I had been coming to America very frequently for many, many years, so I had plenty of exposure - and maybe the best kind of exposure, because I think first impressions are very important. Maybe I notice stuff that is just subliminal to people who live here all the time.

The thriller is not a recent invention. It probably goes back to the dawn of storytelling.

It's always tense when you move a character from a book to the screen. Always tense.

Writing is showbusiness for shy people. That's how I see it.

I have a kind of old-fashioned, artisan approach.

I need a stimulating environment to write because my books are driven at 100 miles per hour at a time.

I do a little fact checking now and then. Other than that its impact is simply that email has revolutionized communication for me, and my website has built up a community of readers, which is a lot of fun.

I grew up in Birmingham, where they made useful things and made them well.

I love Italian food but that's too generic a term for what's available now: you have to narrow it down to Tuscan, Sicilian, and so on.

There is nothing wrong with just telling the story.

All of us write wish fulfillment.

Most actors are small, anyway - at least compared to me.

It's a tough case and the first time Reacher needs to recruit somebody to help him out. He uses a woman he knew in the army she's a fascinating character.

I think my books come out very visual, which is an obvious consequence.

In principle if I could not have a home I wouldn't. But not having a home would be too difficult procedurally, going from hotel to hotel, the gap of three hours where you're hungry and tired.

She's a reflection of my fascination with the diversity of America she's totally normal in New York, but a freak in Texas. There are dozens of such clashes in America.

I'd been a thriller reader all my life.