It's just my goal to deliver the best story I can, and I want to make sure each book is better than the last, and in order to do that, I have to take chances.

Men are more particular, and they're not going to grab something with a bodice-ripper cover on it.

I think some people are good at being alone, and some people aren't, and as a child, I really liked it.

I've always been drawn to dark stories. I enjoy reading Flannery O'Connor, Patricia Highsmith, and Margaret Mitchell.

I love reading almost as much as I love writing.

Most of my books begin with a nap on my couch here, when I dream up characters and story lines, and then I write on my laptop in the recliner and handle the business side of email at my desk, which is sagging in the middle - maybe from so many words?

It was always my dream to write for a living.

I always wanted to be a writer. In the beginning, I thought I had to rewrite 'Gone with the Wind,' but eventually, I found my way and realized that wasn't me.

I grew up reading thrillers. Honestly, I was always drawn to the very detailed ones like Patricia Cornwell. I love details.

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.

Women know how to scare other women.

Anyone who's been to high school with teenage girls knows how horrible girls can be.

We make assumptions: nurses should be nice, teachers should be good. But everyone has a dark side, some darker than others.

Southerners have this love of embellishment. Even when you read a police report, there's some backstory.

Random House is definitely invested in keeping libraries healthy.

It seems like women are always told, 'It is not your time.'

I'd rather live in a cave with a view of a palace than live in a palace with a view of a cave.

A slug is always on its own. It's a lonely insect.

If you sit in a bath of pineapple chunks, it can kill you. That's well documented.

It's not easy keeping a diary. You have to be pretty committed.

People who live in glass houses... have to answer the door.

It would be spiteful to put a Jellyfish in a trifle.

Chinese people age overnight.

They say it all started out with a big bang. But, what I wonder is, was it a big bang or did it just seem big because there wasn't anything else drown it out at the time?

I've never understood the 'things to do before you die' idea. If I was ill, I'd be in no mood to have a swim with a dolphin.

To me, a cat is an easy pet, they don't need any spoiling or looking after.

Parrots have gone a bit quiet since pirates have gone.

If you'd have told me five years ago that I'd have done all this - two books, some television and everything - I'd panic, I'd be scared.

Yesterday, I did some painting then went out to buy an onion and came home and watched 'University Challenge.' The onion was probably the highlight.

That's the problem with having a bald head. It exaggerates the shape.

Who'd have thought the Frisbee would have caught on?

I came face-to-face with a gorilla which was quite good, but it was a 10-hour trek in bad weather, up hills, covered in mud, with mosquitoes everywhere and when we got there the gorilla's just sat there doing nowt.

If you're doing the same job every day, there's room for error.

But I'm not an idiot. At the end of the day, I've learned a lot.

And we've got a toaster and everything. So there is no reason for the wedding.

I'd say the best is when I was in Africa, I saw a hippo in a house. Someone had a pet hippo. And they're meant to be one of the most dangerous animals on the planet, and they had one that was sort of just wandering in and out of their house, just sort of roaming about.

I found that being with happy positive people annoys me.

I don't watch much telly, the telly hardly goes on, but the things I do watch are sort of nature programs, and something about the oceans and the amount of weird fish that's in there.

With acting, I didn't get much from it.

I was impressed by the Taj Mahal. A good bit of work, well looked after, worth paying money to see.

I'm not that lazy, but I don't need that much money. I lead a fairly simple life.

I think it's a problem when something's a dream because it'll never live up to your expectations. It's better to go somewhere thinking it'll be horrible, and then be pleasantly surprised.

When you've been on a programme called 'An Idiot Abroad' job offers aren't exactly flying in.

I'm not a proper traveler. I don't like to be challenged or have too much of a change and prefer a week away just to relax.

I've got loads of nieces and nephews.

With evolution, things are always changing, so I sort of think: Should we all be growing three heads?

At the end of the day, teachers aren't going to mess about trying to make me into an Einstein, 'cause it was never gonna happen. We can't all be brainy, can we? That's just the way the world is.

People who live in a glass house have to answer the door.

People eat duck and you think, well, we've got loads of chickens, leave the ducks alone!

Being honest with you, it's not the 'great' wall of China. It's an all right wall. It's the 'All Right Wall of China.'