Nelson DeMille Quotes & Sayings

You're smarter than you look. Did you ever have anti-terrorist training?" "Sort of. I was married. — Nelson DeMille

A lot of our perception of history is influenced by inaccurate movies. — Nelson DeMille

I read about a John Shelby of Thackham, England, who in 1672 was thrown from his horse into a thicket where he found an iron pot containing more than five hundred gold coins. According to the treasure trove laws of England, all hidden or lost property belonged to the Crown. However, Shelby refused to give the gold to the king's officers, and he was arrested, tried for treason, and beheaded. This was probably a favorite story of the IRS. — Nelson DeMille

I was trained in Army Intelligence, but spent most of my army career in the infantry. But like many people of my generation, I was very much caught up in the Cold War, and books and movies about espionage. — Nelson DeMille

It's much different today than it was during the Cold War. The CIA is not the subject of many books anymore. But that might change, because of international terrorism and Red China. — Nelson DeMille

I had a very strong desire to be successful at something. — Nelson DeMille

What these people were trying to create or re-create here in this new world is beyond me. I can't put myself in their minds or their hearts, but I can sympathize with their struggle for an identity, with their puzzlement, which has troubled Americans from the very beginning - Who are we, where do we fit in, where are we going? — Nelson DeMille

You have to go out of your way as a suspense novelist to find situations where the protagonists are somewhat helpless and in real danger. — Nelson DeMille

... made me promise to cut down on the drinking and swearing, which I have. Unfortunately, this has left me dim-witted and nearly speechless. — Nelson DeMille

Somehow, amid all the sophistication and diversions of this world, we forgot the basics: take care of business at home first, and never betray your blood. — Nelson DeMille

The guy did okay for himself. — Nelson DeMille

A big Russian lady, who seemed to be the household cook, supervised the making of zakuski
Russian hors d'oeuvres, which unfortunately didn't include pigs-in-a-blanket. What kind of party is this? — Nelson DeMille

I try to use short sentences, short paragraphs and short chapters to keep the reader's interest. — Nelson DeMille

I thought to myself, what is everyone's worst fear? Nuclear terrorism in America. — Nelson DeMille

There's hell, there's darkness, there is the sulphurous pit; burning, scalding, stench, consumption! — Nelson DeMille

I want to be back to work next week.
'Let's get you home first. I need to evaluate the extent of your mental impairment.' She tried to flash me the peace sign, but in her weakend condition, she only managed to raise her middle finger. — Nelson DeMille

But if I could choose how and when I wanted to die, I would want to be an eighty-year-old man shot by a jealous young husband who had caught me in bed with his teenage wife. — Nelson DeMille

...."When I was in boarding school, which is English-run, I read a very beautiful passage---something that George VI said in his Christmas message to the English people, in the darkest year of the war, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And he replied, Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a knownew way. — Nelson DeMille

I read 'Time', 'Newsweek' and 'The Economist'. — Nelson DeMille

Oddly enough, I didn't recall feeling that way the week before. I wasn't certain how this revelation came about, but revelations are like that; they just smack you across the face one day, and you know you've arrived at the truth without even knowing you were looking for it. What you do about it is another matter. I — Nelson DeMille

I don't name sources. — Nelson DeMille

Chemical and biological attacks are scary and will kill a lot of people but don't rise to the level of nuclear. — Nelson DeMille

Psychology is a soft weapon but you can take out
more enemy battalions with leaflets and radio broadcasts than with high explosives. — Nelson DeMille

I sometimes use some personality traits to fashion part of a character. Most of my characters are composites of either people I know or people in the public eye. — Nelson DeMille

There are a lot of books about the passing of the English aristocracy, but the vast majority of Long Islanders don't understand their own backyard. It's a private preserve. — Nelson DeMille

Concurring.' But now we know what I suspected. Two people on the board voted for acquittal, which means there are — Nelson DeMille

Panic
a deep abiding, free-floating anxiety, often without any reason or logical basis. — Nelson DeMille

Indeed we all try to raise our children as if our past experiences are important for their future, but they rarely are. — Nelson DeMille

It's really scary when you have a moment of temporary sanity. — Nelson DeMille

You get a promotion?"
"I got a polite, but firm suggestion to be a team player. [ ... ]"
"You got off easy. One of my commanding officers once threw a paperweight at me."
"We're a bit more subtle. — Nelson DeMille

Absolutely breathtaking, nail-biting, and edge-of-your-seat. Michael Koryta is a master at maintaining suspense and a hell of a good writer. THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD is one of the best chase-and-escape novels you'll read this year-or any other year. The pace never lets up. — Nelson DeMille

I turned to the Times crossword puzzle and asked Kate, "What's the definition of a moderate Arab?" "I don't know." "A guy who ran out of ammunition. — Nelson DeMille

Women need a reason to have sex; men need only a place. — Nelson DeMille

I continued, "The painting shows this fish with a big eye and a halo, floating in air, and underneath the fish are all these Native Americans having sex." "What? What does that have to do with Custer's Last Stand?" "Well, the painting is titled, Holy Mackerel, Look at All Those Fucking Indians. — Nelson DeMille

An Englishman once said that he found it easier to be a member of a club than of the human race because the bylaws were shorter, and he knew all the members personally. That sounds about right. — Nelson DeMille

I honestly don't know how anyone functions in this society without a law degree. — Nelson DeMille

I enjoy the presence of a woman in the house for brief periods of time. They fall into two categories: the organizers and the slobs. There's probably a third category - the naggers, who try to get you to do things, but I've never run into one of those. Oddly, I have no preference regarding oganizers or slobs, as long as they don't try to pick my clothes for me. Basically, all women are nurturers and healers, and all men are mental patients to varying degrees. It works fine if people stick to their fated roles. But nobody does. — Nelson DeMille

Most of my books are about contemporary subjects, and the world changes so fast that I'm lucky when events haven't overtaken the book I'm writing at the moment. — Nelson DeMille

I know who didn't kill her." "Don't — Nelson DeMille

I tried to picture a bunch of guys in blue suits running around a beachside neighborhood, knocking on doors and flashing Fed creds. That should cause a stampede of illegal aliens heading south. — Nelson DeMille

Use a gun that works every time. As George Washington said, 'All skill is in vain when an angel pisses in the flintlock of your musket. — Nelson DeMille

The meaning of life has not much to do with good and evil, right and wrong, duty, honor, country, or any of that.
It has to do with cutting the right deal. — Nelson DeMille

Everyone looked pensive, which is good cover-up for clueless. — Nelson DeMille

Nostalgia is basically the ability to forget the things that sucked. — Nelson DeMille

I have no plans to use the Internet as the main subject of a novel. — Nelson DeMille

Stephen King once told me he liked my writing. And that was great. — Nelson DeMille

But that's all hindsight. That evening, my mind was cloudy, and my good judgment was influenced by my need to prove something. It goes to show you, you shouldn't stay out too late during the week. — Nelson DeMille

Never have sex with a woman who has more problems than you do. — Nelson DeMille

As he'd thought, and as he'd always known, Henry and Vivian were better suited for each other. But better is not best, and though he was angry - and hurt - he was also concerned about Vivian. He still liked Henry, but not as much as Henry liked himself. He would have told Vivian this - as a friend - but she might think it was coming from a jealous ex-lover. So he wasn't going to say anything now. — Nelson DeMille

There are Mafia families that have bought magnificent houses on the North Shore, although not yet the great estates because they don't want that kind of high profile. — Nelson DeMille

I used the pen name because I knew I wanted to write better novels under my own name someday. — Nelson DeMille

He understood, too, that they had not necessarily been chosen to succeed, or even to live. But they'd been chosen to find the Holy Grail that was within themselves. And that's what this was always about; the Grail was a phantom and the journey was inward, into their hearts and souls. — Nelson DeMille

Most guys arrived here normal, and they were shocked and sickened by the behavior of the guys who'd been here a while. Then within a few weeks, they'd stop being shocked, and within a few months a lot of them joined the club of the crazies. And most of them, I think, went home and became normal again, though some didn't. But I never once saw anyone here who had gone around the bend ever return to normal while they were still here. It only got worse because in this environment they'd lost any sense of ... humanity. Or you could be nice and say they'd become desensitized. It was actually more frightening than sickening. A guy who'd sliced off the ear of a VC he'd killed that morning would be joking with the village kids and the old Mama-sans that afternoon and handing out candy. I mean, they weren't evil or psychotic, we were normal, which is was really scared the hell out of me. — Nelson DeMille

Even the most radical Islamic terrorist would not want to see the revered holy city of Medina go up. It would be like losing the Vatican in Rome. — Nelson DeMille

She asked me, "Was your divorce nasty?" "Not at all. The marriage was nasty. — Nelson DeMille

I think it's more difficult now to write a spy thriller with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Many authors have tried, but few have succeeded in capturing the interest of readers. — Nelson DeMille

Mrs. Corey still uses her maiden name for business, or when she wants to pretend she doesn't know me. — Nelson DeMille

And there was a time, you know, not so long ago, as recently as my own childhood in fact, when everyone believed in the future and eagerly awaited it or rushed to meet it. But now nearly everyone I know or used to know is trying to slow the speed of the world as the future starts to look more and more like someplace you don't want to be. — Nelson DeMille

Credo quia impossibile.' I believe it because it is impossible. — Nelson DeMille

The most common cause of death among alpha males was ego. — Nelson DeMille

And there was that pregnant silence in the air, the silence between a husband and wife who have just had words, and it is unlike any other silence except perhaps the awful stillness you hear between the flash of an atomic bomb and the blast. Five, four, three, two, one. — Nelson DeMille

I wasn't sure about that, but one never knows. Sometimes a neighborhood, like a culture or civilization, is strong enough to absorb and acculturate any number of newcomers. But I don't know if that's true around here any longer. The outward forms and appearances look the same - [ ... ]- but the substance has been altered. — Nelson DeMille

The window on the right featured contemporary bestselling authors like Brad Meltzer, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Nelson DeMille, and others who make more money writing about what I do than I make doing what I do. — Nelson DeMille

Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face. — Nelson DeMille

Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. And if your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough. — Nelson DeMille

How you doing at 26 Fed?"
"I'm growing and learning, meeting new challenges with confidence and enthusiasm while developing good work ethics and people skills."
"I'm surprised they haven't fired your ass."
"Me too. — Nelson DeMille

I don't like mysteries, which is why I want to solve them. It bothers me that there are things I don't know. — Nelson DeMille

Lawrence Kelter is an exciting new novelist, who reminds me of an early Robert Ludlum. — Nelson DeMille

The journey home is never a direct route; it is, in fact, always circuitous, and somewhere along the way, we discover that the journey is more significant than the destination and that the people we meet along the way will be the traveling companions of our memories forever. — Nelson DeMille

I thought again of how Tobin had already killed five good people and was about to be the cause of two more dying. I couldn't believe that this little turd had actually caused all this death and misery. The only explanation I had for it was that short people with beady eyes and big appetites were ruthless and dangerous. — Nelson DeMille

We're all pilgrims on the same journey - but some pilgrims have better road maps. — Nelson DeMille

Ernest Hemingway was the author I drew inspiration from. — Nelson DeMille

Basically, all women are nurturers and healers, and all men are mental patients to varying degrees. — Nelson DeMille

How you handle life depends a lot on how you handle plan B, or if you have a plan B. — Nelson DeMille

From the unknown, through the unknown, to the unknown. Put your hand into the hand of God. It will be all right. — Nelson DeMille

Sometimes shit happens even if you have a shit shield — Nelson DeMille

I've always been fascinated by the Gold Coast. The homes themselves are spectacular, unlike anything you'll see other than in Newport, Bar Harbor or Palm Beach. It's a very special area that, because of local demographics, is not going to survive much longer. — Nelson DeMille

Writing doesn't leave much time for hobbies, unless you consider that I began writing as a hobby and have made the hobby into a profession. — Nelson DeMille

There were two display windows, one on each side of the door, and in the windows were ... well, books. What this street really needed was a bar. — Nelson DeMille

The problem with doing nothing is that you never know when you're finished. — Nelson DeMille

We're all
criminally insane, but most of us have good control mechanisms,
internal and external. Remove the controls and you have a killer. — Nelson DeMille

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. — Nelson DeMille

I do write my manuscripts by hand, in pencil on legal pads. Then they are typed on a word processor by my typist. — Nelson DeMille

Most accidents, I'm convinced, are God's way of getting rid of stupid people. Or if you believe in Darwinism, you wonder why there are any stupid people left in the world. Well, I guess they can reproduce before they remove themselves from the gene pool. — Nelson DeMille

Job happiness is directly proportional to the distance you are from the home office. — Nelson DeMille

The air was so thick with testosterone that the wallpaper was getting soggy. — Nelson DeMille

The American dream was not supposed to look like this, and when men went off the war, too often other men came in the night to the bedroom at the back of the long, narrow trailers. In fact, I had lived there and had gone off to war, and someone took of my place in the bed and took of my young wife. But that was few wars ago, and so much has happened since , that the only lingering bitterness left is that the bastard also took my dog. — Nelson DeMille

I like the process of pencil and paper as opposed to a machine. I think the writing is better when it's done in handwriting. — Nelson DeMille

The world has gotten smaller and more accessible since I first started writing in the 70's. — Nelson DeMille

As with real estate, what matters with bullet holes is location, location, location. — Nelson DeMille

This guy I know went into a sex shop and asked the proprietor for a blow-up sex doll." "Is this a joke?" "So the proprietor asks, 'You want a Christian doll, a Jewish doll, or a Muslim doll?' And the guy says, 'What difference does it make?' And the proprietor says, 'Well, the Muslim dolls blow themselves up. — Nelson DeMille

A lot of who you were in middle age was determined before you had a chance to manipulate, control, or eve understand the things around you. It was no mystery, he thought, why some old people's minds returned to their youth; the wonder of those years, the discoveries, the first experience with the dirty secret of death, and the first stirrings of lust and love were indelible, drawn in luminous colors on clean canvas. Indeed, the first sex act was so mind-boggling that most people could still remember it clearly twenty, thirty, sixty years later. — Nelson DeMille

Well, no one ever said the truth would make you happy - only free. — Nelson DeMille

Totally incompetent blowhard, an idiot and a fool. — Nelson DeMille

Kate had never been married, so she had no way of knowing if I was a normal husband. This has been good for our marriage. — Nelson DeMille

G.I. humor is similar to cop humor. — Nelson DeMille

The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you are finished. — Nelson DeMille

There is no harder worker than a former government employee who has discovered the word incentive. — Nelson DeMille

I generally unwind by having dinner with close friends. — Nelson DeMille

In America if you're poor, you're worse than a criminal. You're nobody. — Nelson DeMille