"I believe the most intricate plot won't matter much to readers if they don't care about the characters, especially in a series. So I try to focus hard on making each character, whether villain or hero, have an interesting flaw that readers can relate to."

"It is a unyielding truth that a life without philosophical reflection is a vessel adrift on an uncharted sea."

"Wisdom is the quiet art of recognizing what can be changed and releasing what cannot. Let this simple maxim guide your daily deeds."

"It is a radiant truth that justice is the harmonious balance between individual liberty and collective good."

"Never give in and never give up."

"Doctors, dressed up in one professional costume or another, have been in busy practice since the earliest records of every culture on earth. It is hard to think of a more dependable or enduring occupation, harder still to imagine any future events leading to its extinction."

"To work hard, to live hard, to die hard, and then go to hell after all would be too damn hard."

"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am."