Lisa Gardner Quotes & Sayings

“When I got my very first phone call that I'd hit the 'New York Times' list, I had a small rush of 'I've made it!' But the next morning, it occurred to me I didn't know what it was, so I called my agent and asked what being a 'New York Times' bestselling author really meant. He informed me that I was now a thousand pound gorilla.”

“I still read romance, and I read suspense. I read them both. And part of it is, I like stories with strong characters, and I like stories where there's closure at the end. And I like stories where there's hope. That's a kind of empowerment. I think romance novels are very empowering, and I think suspense novels are, too.”

“Mental illness is a disease and organic mental illness of young kids is becoming more and more of a disease... we do need to talk about it.”

“I loved ghost stories, creaky staircases, stormy nights. If it guaranteed nightmares I read it by flashlight, after midnight.”

“It's kind of the yin and yang that fascinate me. That for all the evil men do, there are also people who work obnoxiously long hours and sacrifice their personal lives because it is a calling - if they don't keep our streets safe, if they aren't there to advocate for and save beaten women and children and murder victims, who will?”

“I'm unique for a suspense author in that I don't have a specialty background. A lot of suspense writers used to be lawyers or crime beat reporters. I didn't even know a cop when I started out. I finally figured out that I could visit prisons - I just had to be willing to make the phone calls.”

“My secret vice is Sudoku puzzles. Can't stop playing them. My parents are accountants. I blame them entirely.”

“I think one of the appeals of suspense is to safely explore our innermost fears.”

“I'm not the most detailed writer. I have a tendency to be more action-oriented vs. descriptive.”

“Post-apocalyptic novels tell you that in the future there is some great war. I would tell you that most cops say that it's going on right now.”