Tragedy is a hell of a teacher. Its much too strict, but its a hell of a teacher. – Harlan Coben
Im not a big sports fan. – Harlan Coben
I dont necessarily love the sports per se, I love the stories behind them. Also in a kind of perverse way I like to study what it does to us, why we care so much. Its caring about something thats utterly meaningless. – Harlan Coben
You cant have an up without a down, a right without a left, a back without a front – or a happy without a sad. – Harlan Coben
Id never had money growing up, and its never been that important to me, except maybe to take our kids on a nice vacation or something like that. – Harlan Coben
I am very lucky that I get to tell stories for a living. I love being able to grab peoples attention, to keep them turning the pages, to make them stay awake all night. I want to stir the pulse, yes, but also to stir the heart. I hope The Woods does that. – Harlan Coben
I can write pretty much anywhere if you give me time and some quiet. The home is not usually the best place because I have four children. Its usually pandemonium around here! – Harlan Coben
Caught is a novel of forgiveness, and the past and the present – who should be and who shouldnt be forgiven. None of my books are ever just about thrills, or it wont work. – Harlan Coben
I always say three things make a writer: inspiration, obviously perspiration, doing the work. But the third is desperation. Im 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
Frankly Im fairly boring or fairly busy. Between writing and family, I have little time for anything else. – Harlan Coben
If Im not writing well, Im not happy. If Im not spending enough time with my family, Im not happy. If Im not connecting to friends or if I dont work out enough… You get the point. Everything has to be balanced. Nothing should be an extreme. – 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
The readers are the ones who let us live our dreams. I try to write books which are really compelling – that youd take on vacation and rather than going out, youd read in your hotel room because you had to find out what happened. Hopefully thats what readers are responding to. – Harlan Coben
Make no mistake, adolescence is a war. No one gets out unscathed. – Harlan Coben
Hope can be the most wonderful thing in the world or it can crush your heart like an eggshell. – Harlan Coben
I try to stress to my children that buying something never leads to true happiness. – 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
Losing my parents was the most crushing thing that ever happened to me. I lost my dad when I was 26, and it changed my life entirely. – 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
