I've done very well financially and sold a lot because I've had a multiple method of attack as a writer. That's a conscious strategy.

Edgar Rice Burroughs taught me pace and gave me a sense of action and adventure.

Some people see writing as a white-collar career, but I've always approached it as a blue-collar writer.

I lived below the poverty line when I was young and starting out as a writer. But my wife and I kept trying to do things better, as anyone with ambition does. But just because you're trying doesn't mean you're always going to succeed.

When I turn on the news in Paris, the way Syria is covered is different from the way it is covered in Washington, D.C., or London. Even in Western society, where we hold all the values of democracy and freedom of speech, as soon as you point a camera in a particular direction, there is an angle - literally and figuratively.

You would be naive to suggest that politics isn't complicated or isn't a game, but you don't create change through cynicism.

If you look at all the sports in China, the government is extremely involved and they are extremely proud of their athlete.

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.