I’m proud to be a writer. I’m doing the job all my heroes did.

Reality was dawning on him and he hated reality. If you were him, so would you.

No matter what the good boys tell you, criminality is not a level playing field.

I have a very addictive personality. If it isn’t women, it’s money. If it isn’t money, it’s speeding. And if it isn’t speeding, it’s women. I also like expensive video consoles where I can punch, kick, screw, shoot and drive legally all night anywhere I fucking well want to.

First time I ever put pen to paper, I had one goal – to build something no one had ever thought of before.

Books are readable drugs.

Most people assume I write at night because of the kind of books I write, but I can shut out the light with my mind.

Some ancient oversight had nearly taken his sight, but this sad fuck was already blind inside.

The only difference between writers and people who don't write is that writers aren't afraid to display their demons.

I always feel anxious if anyone’s close to uncovering my secrets.

We are all the sum of a million moments in our lives.

She was not alone in her respect for him. Because he is more than a boss to people. He’s a religion for non-believers.

I want to question societal norms, encourage people to think in new ways.

When a person sets out to learn from others and not to teach others he becomes a true writer.

When I write, I try to represent the voices of people I've known who had no voice.

All the best writers take risks, offend people often and say fuck you to the critics.

Every book contains a secret – even the writer doesn't always know what it is.

The most lies we will ever tell in our lives will be to ourselves.

Someone asked me, 'How do you write a book?' I said, 'I live with a pen in one hand.

Books are like rivers, meandering this way and that, but taking us on a steady, flowing course to somewhere different.

It's better to be remembered for what you said, not what you earned.

When I write, I write obsessively. I try to pace myself, but some fires are too hot to put out.

Lyrics paved my teenage route to loving words. I take those passionate mini-stories with me everywhere.

I’m much more than a writer – I’m someone who puts different words together in an interesting way.

I’m an observer. I am fascinated by people and how their minds work (and, of course, my own). Why we are the way we are, why we do the things we do – and that interest drives my writing. I was a physicist before fiction claimed my soul, so I’m an experimenter. I’m open to different ways of thinking. I like exaggerating, making things up. I’m a very open, honest person in life and that’s the way it should be, but when it comes to fiction, I want to pour a few sharp objects into the comfort zone. Our fears are powerful, yet we’ve all got a desire to laugh and be entertained. I could have followed the same path I do now as a scientist, examining how the brain works. Ironically I get much more freedom to experiment as a writer. That’s why I love it.

People love books because they're searching for answers to deep, unconscious questions - and books get as close as it's possible to get.

It’s much harder to twist the charitable arm of a lottery winner compared to that of a man at his lowest ebb. It sounds like the wrong way round at first, but when you really put your nut to it, people are more frightened of losing the big shit than of having fuck all to begin with and losing a bit of that.

Bravery isn't brandishing a sword. It's standing your moral ground and letting others try their best to take you down.

There are some great, subversive female writers out there. Gender should not affect anything. It does, but it shouldn't.

There are books that change our perspectives and books that change our personalities.

People who don't read fiction are scared of what's inside their own heads.

People who love reading get an instantly warm feeling in their bellies when they hear others describe getting comfortable with a good book.

When I read a daring book or listen to rebellious music, I feel like I've found what freedom really means.