Charles McCarry Quotes
I write in a very peculiar way. I think about a book for 25 or 30 years in a kind of inchoate way, and at one point or another, I realize the book is ready to be written. I usually have a character, a first line, and general idea of what the book is going to be about.

Quotes to Explore
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Yes, there is a terrible moral in 'Dorian Gray' - a moral which the prurient will not be able to find in it, but it will be revealed to all whose minds are healthy. Is this an artistic error? I fear it is. It is the only error in the book.
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I was devastated when I got the review for my first book. The book came out a couple years before the women's movement broke through, and people were putting it down, asking, 'Why does the woman in this book need to get a divorce? Why can't she just shut up and be happy?'
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What we've seen of Rey, she looks like she can handle her stuff. So most of the comments I get are from parents who say how wonderful it is that their little girls can see this character.
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Once I was chased by the king of all scorpions. I have the most notorious animal stories.
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I haven't found it to be particularly enjoyable... ninety percent of the time when I go on dates, I'm thinking, 'I could be reading my book instead.'
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The problem with writing a monthly book is that you're going through your work like a man running for a bus, red-faced and out of breath. There isn't time for reflection or critical self-examination.
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I'd like to do something where there's a strong female character and some action. I've done a few stunts in the past.
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When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality over character.
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In the biographical novel, there's only one person involved. I, the author, spend two to five years becoming the main character. I do that so by the time you get to the bottom of Page 2 or 3, you forget your name, where you live, your profession and the year it is. You become the main character of the book. You live the book.
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When we were subjected to a vicious character assassination campaign orchestrated by senior White House officials and championed by their allies in the right-wing echo chamber, Hillary reached out to us. Her counsel during that tumultuous period was as timely as it was wise.
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I like to believe, as a writer, that anybody who isn't a reader yet has just not found the right book.
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You have to understand that while I pre-plot the meta story of a given book, I often have no idea of what will happen on the next page, let alone the next chapter. That's what makes it fun for me; I write the books the same way many people read them.
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I started in theatre, and for me, it was all about transformation. You transform into the character that you're playing.
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It's easier to release an ebook than a print book.
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Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.
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I have two daughters: One an open book, one a locked box. So the question of privacy is a challenging one. How much do kids need? How much should we give? How do we prepare them to live in a world where the very notion of privacy opens a generational chasm?
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Butler's novel 'Kindred' may be the book most widely read by readers outside science fiction; it has been assigned as a text in classrooms and has sold steadily since its publication in 1979.
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Character is always known. Thefts never enrich; alms never impoverish; murder will speak out of stone walls.
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I want to play someone really dark, like a real bad guy on screen. But I am sure I won't be able to do so because my fans will not let me do it. They are aggressive. My image is such that no one will allow me to do a negative character.
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There are cases when it takes 50 or 100 years for fundamental science to achieve results.
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This is making us feel like superstars. This is one of the best moments of my life.
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I can remember that little thrill - that little shiver of excitement - when the Opry audience would encore a person because that person had touched them so.
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I write in a very peculiar way. I think about a book for 25 or 30 years in a kind of inchoate way, and at one point or another, I realize the book is ready to be written. I usually have a character, a first line, and general idea of what the book is going to be about.