The way to write a thriller is to ask a question at the beginning, and answer it at the end. Lee Child More Quotes by Lee Child More Quotes From Lee Child I know I'm smarter than an armadillo Lee Child armadillos smarter knows He picked up the wrench and broke the guy’s wrist with it, one, and then the other wrist, two, and turned back and did the same to the guy who had held the hammer, three, four. The two men were somebody’s weapons, consciously deployed, and no soldier left an enemy’s abandoned ordnance on the field in working order. The doctor’s wife was watching from the cabin door, all kinds of terror in her face. "What?" Reacher asked her. Lee Child doctors doors men A calm environment is for after I finish work. Lee Child calm environment I always wanted to be in the world of entertainment. I just love the idea of an audience being happy with what I am doing. Writing is showbusiness for shy people. That's how I see it. Lee Child writing people ideas It gives me some kind of chance to survive the night." "How are those better odds? If you come back with me, you're guaranteed to survive the night." "No," Reacher said. "If I come back with you, I'm guaranteed to die of shame. Lee Child odds giving night Intensely vivid characters, terrible crimes, and a brutal deep-frozen landscape all prove beyond a reasonable doubt that cold nurtures good and evil as readily as heat ... and that Giles Blunt is a really tremendous crime novelist. Lee Child doubt evil character So, how to stay inside the world of entertainment without actually getting another job? I felt the only logical answer was to become a novelist. So I wrote the first book - driven by some very real feelings of desperation - and it worked. Lee Child real jobs book Most actors are small, anyway - at least compared to me. Lee Child actors It's a kind of zen question: if you write a book and no one reads it, is it really a book? Lee Child kind writing book I don't need validation, recognition or praise. What I need are facts and the facts are that one of my books gets sold, somewhere in the world, every second. Lee Child validation book needs I write in the afternoon, from about 12 until 6 or 7. I use an upstairs room as my office. Once I get going I keep at it, and it usually takes about six months from the first blank screen until 'The End. Lee Child six-months office writing I've discovered writers by reading books left in airplane seats and weird hotels. Lee Child airplane reading book It's always sad if anybody you know has a personal problem. Lee Child problem ifs knows It's always tense when you move a character from a book to the screen. Always tense. Lee Child character book moving 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. Lee Child falling-in-love cities america 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. Lee Child texas reflection new-york 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. Lee Child america years thinking What do I miss about the UK? Sadly, almost nothing. Maybe the midnight sun, in June in the north. That's all. Lee Child midnight june missing A handgun at two hundred feet is the same thing as crossing your fingers and making a wish. Lee Child wish feet two I wanted readers to be genuinely unsure as to whether she's telling the truth or lying. It meant making her partly sympathetic, and partly unsympathetic, which wasn't easy. Lee Child telling-the-truth easy lying