In the end, we know what makes us happy. We also know what makes us unhappy. That’s the irony. We know and yet we still mess it up. That’s part of the human condition, no, and why we need to work on it. – Harlan Coben
‘Caught’ is a novel of forgiveness, and the past and the present – who should be and who shouldn’t be forgiven. None of my books are ever just about thrills, or it won’t work. – Harlan Coben
I’m not very happy idle. There’s always this voice in my head that says, ‘I should be writing.’ – Harlan Coben
I am, after all, a thriller writer. I routinely delve into the darkest chambers of the human heart. I’ve written about murder, kidnapping, depravity, horror, violence, and disfigurement. – Harlan Coben
This is the price you pay for having a great father. You get the wonder, the joy, the tender moments – and you get the tears at the end, too. – Harlan Coben
My house has too many distractions. There’s the email. There’s checking my Amazon ranking. I know I’m the only author who’s ever done that, ever. There’s the fax. Too many distractions. I like to go out and write. – Harlan Coben
I always say three things make a writer: inspiration, obviously; perspiration, doing the work. But the third is desperation. I’m not really fit for anything else, or to have a real job. That fear drives me. The pressure has always been self inflicted. – Harlan Coben
I don’t find any real rivalries with crime and thriller writers anyway. That might sound a little Pollyanna, but for the most part the writers I compete with, if you want to use that word, it’s a pretty friendly rivalry. I think we all realise that the boat rises and sinks together. – Harlan Coben
I’d never had money growing up, and it’s never been that important to me, except maybe to take our kids on a nice vacation or something like that. – Harlan Coben
There are three things that make a person a writer: inspiration, perspiration and desperation. – Harlan Coben
I’m not a fan of self-help books – how can something be ‘self-help’ if the book itself is purportedly helping you? – Harlan Coben
I like to go out and write. So I’ll often go to a Starbucks or a local coffee bar, and I’ll sit there and I’ll write. I can write pretty much anywhere. – Harlan Coben
The book I always say that influenced me, subconsciously, because at the time I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer, was William Goldman’s ‘Marathon Man.’ That was the first adult thriller that I loved. I read it when I was 15 or so, when my father gave it to me. – Harlan Coben
Being a parent is not for the faint of heart. I may joke about knowing fear, but the fact is, the first time I ever knew real fear was the day Charlotte, my first child, was born. Suddenly there is someone in the world you care about more than anything. – Harlan Coben
You know, people call mystery novels or thrillers ‘puzzles.’ I never understood that, because when I buy a puzzle, I already know what it is. It’s on the box. And even if I don’t, if it’s a 5,000-piece puzzle of the ‘Mona Lisa’, it’s not like I put the last piece in and go, ‘I had no idea it’s the ‘Mona Lisa’!’ – Harlan Coben
I’m thinking of taking up golf, but the idea of spending time with golfers frightens me. – Harlan Coben
When I’m writing, what I pretend subconsciously is that we’re cavemen, we’re sitting around the fire, and I’m telling you stories. If I bore you, you’re probably going to pick up a big club and hit me over the head. – Harlan Coben
No characters in ‘Stay Close,’ including the leads, are black and white. I want them to be grey. I think that makes for a much more interesting reading experience, something that will stay with you a little bit longer. – Harlan Coben
Writing my first book, I think in hindsight I went into it saying, ‘It’s gonna sell.’ I was earning enough to scrape by sometime around a book or two before ‘Tell No One.’ I moved up from $50,000 to $75,000, then $150,000 for each book. I had never thought I would be doing anything else. I had enough encouragement. – Harlan Coben
Hope can be the most wonderful thing in the world or it can crush your heart like an eggshell. – Harlan Coben
When you like something and you’re pretty good at it and you can make a living doing it, you don’t ask why. You just count your blessings and go with it. – Harlan Coben
When I was seventeen, I worked as a counsellor at a co-ed sleep-away camp for eight weeks. I loved it but it could be harrowing – it was far too much responsibility for someone my age. – Harlan Coben
The actual writing time is a lot shorter than the thinking time. I don’t do too many notes. I keep it mostly in my head. I usually start writing a new book around January, and it’s due October 1. – Harlan Coben
I always think the insecurity is going to go away, but it’s always there. Only bad writers think they’re good. – Harlan Coben
If I’m not writing well, I’m not happy. If I’m not spending enough time with my family, I’m not happy. If I’m not connecting to friends or if I don’t work out enough… You get the point. Everything has to be balanced. Nothing should be an extreme. – Harlan Coben
