“Whoever sees no other aim in the game than that of giving checkmate to one's opponent will never become a good Chess player.”

“Whenever I've been stuck on a project, it's always brought me solace to the return to books that moved me in the past. It's a nice way to get outside my own head; and it brings me back to one of the most important reasons I write at all: to bring some pleasure to readers, to make them think or feel.”