"Building a mechanical device for its appearance is like putting lace on a bowling ball."

"I believe my publisher has shown a great deal of faith in me over a lot of years but I'm not prepared to be so arrogant to say that the long-term literary value of my work would compensate them for a financial failure."

"I don't take advances for my books."

"The idea that you're not a writer until you're published is a lie."

"A kid in an abusive home has far fewer rights than any POW. There is no Geneva Convention for kids."

"People are pushing against the fabric of society all the time."

"My life is triage."

"I don't understand people whose gratification is a BMW. You don't know what joy is until you see a kid who was tortured get adopted by a family."

"Journalism is what maintains democracy. It's the force for progressive social change."

"Victimizers of children are the enemies of any so-called society."

"I'm in pursuit of what cannot be achieved: perfection."

"The third person narrator, instead of being omniscient, is like a constantly running surveillance tape."

"I think people should be consumers of journalism."

"Journalism is the protection between people and any sort of totalitarian rule. That's why my hero, admittedly a flawed one, is a journalist."

"I don't sign contracts for my books."