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Harlan Coben Quotes

I’m a little bit of a control freak Picture Quote #1

Amazing what we can self-rationalize when we really want something Picture Quote #1

Kate Atkinson is an absolute must-read. I love everything she writes Picture Quote #1

I’m not a big sports fan Picture Quote #1

Her smile shames the sun Picture Quote #1

You bring your own weather to the picnic Picture Quote #1

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Sometimes the loudest cries for help are silent Picture Quote #1

Memories, you see, hurt. The good ones most of all Picture Quote #1

Only bad writers think they’re good Picture Quote #1

The actual writing time is a lot shorter than the thinking time Picture Quote #1

Sometimes even when the book is over I don’t know whos good and whos bad. Its really more interesting, I think, to write about gray characters than it is to write about black and white Picture Quote #1

Im 48 years old, not a kid anymore by any definition, but here is a universal truth that every adult at some point will realize: We are all always 17 years old, waiting for our lives to begin Picture Quote #1

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Writing a novel in general is like trying to reach a mountain top you’ll never quite reach - so you try again and maybe get a little closer Picture Quote #1

If I had, say, a tall, amateur male lead living on the campus of a rural college (Six Years), the next book might feature a short, cop who lives in the heart of Manhattan (Missing You) Picture Quote #1

I would rather raise certain topics and maybe let you ruminate on them. I’m not big on answering them Picture Quote #1

We all think that we are uniquely complex, that no one can see what we are thinking - yet we also believe that we have the rare ability to read others. This fascinates me at the moment Picture Quote #1

No characters in ‘Stay Close,’ including the leads, are black and white. I want them to be grey. I think that makes for a much more interesting reading experience, something that will stay with you a little bit longer Picture Quote #1

You know, people call mystery novels or thrillers ‘puzzles.’ I never understood that, because when I buy a puzzle, I already know what it is. It’s on the box. And even if I don’t, if it’s a 5,000-piece puzzle of the ‘Mona Lisa’, it’s not like I put the last piece in and go, ‘I had no idea it’s the ‘Mona Lisa’!’ Picture Quote #1

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Let me back up a little and tell you why I prefer writing to real life: You can rewrite. A novel, for example, can be cleaned up, altered, trimmed, improved. Life, on the other hand, is one big messy rough draft Picture Quote #1

The muse is not an angelic voice that sits on your shoulder and sings sweetly. The muse is the most annoying whine. The muse isn’t hard to find, just hard to like - she follows you everywhere, tapping you on the shoulder, demanding that you stop doing whatever else you might be doing and pay attention to her Picture Quote #1

And I love the twist. I love to fool you once, I love to fool you twice, and on the very last page, quite often - very last paragraph sometimes - I like to just play with your perception one more time in a way that makes everything that came before just a little bit different Picture Quote #1

I love stories. When I’m writing, what I pretend subconsciously is that we’re cavemen, we’re sitting around the fire, and I’m telling you stories. If I bore you, you’re probably going to pick up a big club and hit me over the head Picture Quote #1

The state of New Jersey is really two places - terrible cities and wonderful suburbs. I live in the suburbs, the final battleground of the American dream, where people get married and have kids and try to scratch out a happy life for themselves. It’s very romantic in that way, but a bit naive. I like to play with that in my work Picture Quote #1

I am very lucky that I get to tell stories for a living. I love being able to grab people’s attention, to keep them turning the pages, to make them stay awake all night. I want to stir the pulse, yes, but also to stir the heart. I hope ‘The Woods’ does that Picture Quote #1

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I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It’s very thin, it’s made of something very flimsy like lime, and if you cross it, it really starts to blur where fair becomes foul and foul becomes fair Picture Quote #1

I don’t find any real rivalries with crime and thriller writers anyway. That might sound a little Pollyanna, but for the most part the writers I compete with, if you want to use that word, it’s a pretty friendly rivalry. I think we all realise that the boat rises and sinks together Picture Quote #1

The actual writing time is a lot shorter than the thinking time. I don’t do too many notes. I keep it mostly in my head. I usually start writing a new book around January, and it’s due October 1 Picture Quote #1

The book I always say that influenced me, subconsciously, because at the time I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer, was William Goldman’s ‘Marathon Man.’ That was the first adult thriller that I loved. I read it when I was 15 or so, when my father gave it to me Picture Quote #1

The readers are the ones who let us live our dreams. I try to write books which are really compelling - that you’d take on vacation and rather than going out, you’d read in your hotel room because you had to find out what happened. Hopefully that’s what readers are responding to Picture Quote #1

What I want to do is tell stories about normal people in the American suburbs. I don’t write the book where it’s a conspiracy reaching the prime minister; I don’t write the book with the big serial killer who lops off heads. My setting is a very placid pool of suburbia, family life. And within that I can make pretty big splashes Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

I’m a little bit of a control freak (Harlan Coben Quotes) Amazing what we can self-rationalize when we really want something (Harlan Coben Quotes) Kate Atkinson is an absolute must-read. I love everything she writes (Harlan Coben Quotes) I’m not a big sports fan (Harlan Coben Quotes) Her smile shames the sun (Harlan Coben Quotes) You bring your own weather to the picnic (Harlan Coben Quotes) Sometimes the loudest cries for help are silent (Harlan Coben Quotes) Memories, you see, hurt. The good ones most of all (Harlan Coben Quotes) Only bad writers think they’re good (Harlan Coben Quotes) The actual writing time is a lot shorter than the thinking time (Harlan Coben Quotes) Sometimes even when the book is over I don’t know whos good and whos bad. Its really more interesting, I think, to write about gray characters than it is to write about black and white (Harlan Coben Quotes) Im 48 years old, not a kid anymore by any definition, but here is a universal truth that every adult at some point will realize: We are all always 17 years old, waiting for our lives to begin (Harlan Coben Quotes) Writing a novel in general is like trying to reach a mountain top you’ll never quite reach - so you try again and maybe get a little closer (Harlan Coben Quotes) If I had, say, a tall, amateur male lead living on the campus of a rural college (Six Years), the next book might feature a short, cop who lives in the heart of Manhattan (Missing You) (Harlan Coben Quotes) I would rather raise certain topics and maybe let you ruminate on them. I’m not big on answering them (Harlan Coben Quotes) We all think that we are uniquely complex, that no one can see what we are thinking - yet we also believe that we have the rare ability to read others. This fascinates me at the moment (Harlan Coben Quotes) No characters in ‘Stay Close,’ including the leads, are black and white. I want them to be grey. I think that makes for a much more interesting reading experience, something that will stay with you a little bit longer (Harlan Coben Quotes) You know, people call mystery novels or thrillers ‘puzzles.’ I never understood that, because when I buy a puzzle, I already know what it is. It’s on the box. And even if I don’t, if it’s a 5,000-piece puzzle of the ‘Mona Lisa’, it’s not like I put the last piece in and go, ‘I had no idea it’s the ‘Mona Lisa’!’ (Harlan Coben Quotes) Let me back up a little and tell you why I prefer writing to real life: You can rewrite. A novel, for example, can be cleaned up, altered, trimmed, improved. Life, on the other hand, is one big messy rough draft (Harlan Coben Quotes) The muse is not an angelic voice that sits on your shoulder and sings sweetly. The muse is the most annoying whine. The muse isn’t hard to find, just hard to like - she follows you everywhere, tapping you on the shoulder, demanding that you stop doing whatever else you might be doing and pay attention to her (Harlan Coben Quotes) And I love the twist. I love to fool you once, I love to fool you twice, and on the very last page, quite often - very last paragraph sometimes - I like to just play with your perception one more time in a way that makes everything that came before just a little bit different (Harlan Coben Quotes) I love stories. When I’m writing, what I pretend subconsciously is that we’re cavemen, we’re sitting around the fire, and I’m telling you stories. If I bore you, you’re probably going to pick up a big club and hit me over the head (Harlan Coben Quotes) The state of New Jersey is really two places - terrible cities and wonderful suburbs. I live in the suburbs, the final battleground of the American dream, where people get married and have kids and try to scratch out a happy life for themselves. It’s very romantic in that way, but a bit naive. I like to play with that in my work (Harlan Coben Quotes) I am very lucky that I get to tell stories for a living. I love being able to grab people’s attention, to keep them turning the pages, to make them stay awake all night. I want to stir the pulse, yes, but also to stir the heart. I hope ‘The Woods’ does that (Harlan Coben Quotes) I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It’s very thin, it’s made of something very flimsy like lime, and if you cross it, it really starts to blur where fair becomes foul and foul becomes fair (Harlan Coben Quotes) I don’t find any real rivalries with crime and thriller writers anyway. That might sound a little Pollyanna, but for the most part the writers I compete with, if you want to use that word, it’s a pretty friendly rivalry. I think we all realise that the boat rises and sinks together (Harlan Coben Quotes) The actual writing time is a lot shorter than the thinking time. I don’t do too many notes. I keep it mostly in my head. I usually start writing a new book around January, and it’s due October 1 (Harlan Coben Quotes) The book I always say that influenced me, subconsciously, because at the time I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer, was William Goldman’s ‘Marathon Man.’ That was the first adult thriller that I loved. I read it when I was 15 or so, when my father gave it to me (Harlan Coben Quotes) The readers are the ones who let us live our dreams. I try to write books which are really compelling - that you’d take on vacation and rather than going out, you’d read in your hotel room because you had to find out what happened. Hopefully that’s what readers are responding to (Harlan Coben Quotes) What I want to do is tell stories about normal people in the American suburbs. I don’t write the book where it’s a conspiracy reaching the prime minister; I don’t write the book with the big serial killer who lops off heads. My setting is a very placid pool of suburbia, family life. And within that I can make pretty big splashes (Harlan Coben Quotes)

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