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I never felt isolated; I just liked being alone. I think that some people are good at being alone, and some people aren't, and as a child, I really liked it.
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I love reading almost as much as I love writing.
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I always try to block out an hour or so a day to read. Being a writer is a job, and reading helps train my brain in the right direction.
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Denise Mina is probably one of the most gifted writers out there, whether it's mystery or literary or whatever label you want to give it.
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The most important lesson I have learned from spending years talking to law enforcement officers is that the vast majority of them really want to do a good job. They have a physical need to do a good job. And yet, we don't give them the resources that would help them.
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As voters and taxpayers, we must demand that our local governments properly prioritize libraries. As citizens, we must invest in our library down the street so that the generations served by that library grow up to be adults who contribute not just to their local communities but to the world.
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As a Southerner, I love obstacles for my characters.
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Women know how to scare other women.
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I've never purposefully based a character on any one person I know, but I'm certain there are amalgamations that exist.
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Everybody had something horrible happen to them at one time or another in their life.
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I can clearly trace my passion for reading back to the Jonesboro, Georgia, library, where for the first time in my life I had access to what seemed like an unlimited supply of books. This was where I discovered 'Encyclopedia Brown' and 'Nancy Drew,' 'Gone With the Wind' and 'Rebecca.' This was where I became inspired to be a writer.
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If you're going to write thrillers, you have to make a decision if you are going to be realistic or go off and over.
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Men are more particular, and they're not going to grab something with a bodice-ripper cover on it.
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What I know is the characters in a Southern town. I know the cadence of the language and the voice of Atlanta because I've lived here for so long. And I know the neighborhoods, and I hopefully know the people, and I feel a connection to them. And I also feel like I'm honoring them when I talk about them.
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People forget that writers start off being readers. We all love it when we find a terrific read, and we want to let people know about it.
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I grew up reading thrillers. Honestly, I was always drawn to the very detailed ones like Patricia Cornwell. I love details.
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I've always been drawn to historical fiction.
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I grew up watching the 'People's Choice Awards.'
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Being a Southerner, I'm interested in sex, violence, religion and all the things that make life interesting.
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I grew up in a small town in Georgia where nothing bad happened - it was like Mayberry.
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I taped the autopsy photos from Marilyn Monroe's death to my lunch box in fifth grade, and I would write stories in which someone inevitably died.
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I could type in a closet and be fine. It's just a matter of cocooning myself. Just me and the story.
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Random House is definitely invested in keeping libraries healthy.
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If there is still an American dream, reading is one of the bootstraps by which we can all pull ourselves up.