Honestly, I don't focus on what my writing is called. I don't mean to sound artsy and pretentious, I just really can't think of things in that way. For me, the point is telling a story that keeps people up past bedtime, while hopefully exploring ideas that resonate.

Marcus Sakey

Nobody is accidentally in Alaska. The people who are in Alaska are there because they choose to be, so they've sort of got a real frontier ethic. The people are incredibly friendly, interesting, smart people - but they also stay out of each other's business.

Marcus Sakey

I'm a Hemingway fan, so in a manner of speaking, I've been fishing with him already. But man, would I love to board Pilar in Key West and head south until we have a day-long battle with a tarpon, haul that bad boy up, then celebrate by telling lies over rum on a Cuban terrace.

Marcus Sakey

I don't know if this is the flat-out strangest, but I'll never forget handling a human brain. It had been sliced into sections for autopsy, each about an inch thick, and felt like pork tenderloin. I swear to god, my first thought was that if you were to dust it with chipotle and cinnamon and saute it in butter, it would probably be delicious.

Marcus Sakey

I still miss my first car. Not a glamorous ride, but I must've put 60,000 miles in road trips on that thing.

Marcus Sakey

I've always been fascinated by mythology or, in modern parlance, by X-Men or vampires.

Marcus Sakey

I like really sharp flavors, and I like contrasts. Something sweet and sour at the same time is a big win.

Marcus Sakey

I do wish that reviews were less like book reports. There was an era when reviewers had something to say about a book: when they painted context and drew conclusions. Many reviews these days are little more than plot summary.

Marcus Sakey

I'm a card-carrying nerd, a gamer, and sci-fi geek.

Marcus Sakey

My feeling is that the most dangerous people are always those who take a hardline position - and nothing inspires that sort of extremism like difference.

Marcus Sakey

I write crime novels and thrillers - I'm a big fan of cops. You can never forget that they run towards what everyone else runs away from.

Marcus Sakey

If you pick up a copy of 'A Better World,' you'll lose those last five pounds while saving a baby seal under a rainbow. I kid. It'll be ten pounds.

Marcus Sakey

My goal as a novelist is to create smart entertainment, books that keep bright people up too late, that make them want to read just one more chapter. Books that have ideas threaded in amidst the thrilling bits, ideas that I hope linger even after people close the book.

Marcus Sakey

For me, the best moments in storytelling are the ones where I feel I'm discovering something.

Marcus Sakey

The notion of a writer sitting in a library doing research isn't what I want. The research I love doing isn't found in a book. It's what it feels like to rappel down the side of a building; to train with a SWAT team; to hold a human brain in your hands; or to dive for pirate treasure. Those are things I've done to research my stories.

Marcus Sakey

The first job of a storyteller is to make the reader feel the story, to get the reader to live in the skin of the character.

Marcus Sakey

I'm not at all upset to be considered a crime novelist. But for me, it's never really about the crime or the violence. I'm much more interested in exploring issues.

Marcus Sakey

One of the things that I love about crime novels is that you can turn the volume all the way up. If I can make somebody blow their subway stop, I win.

Marcus Sakey

In 1791, the right to bear arms to defend against an over-reaching government wasn't theoretical. Today, it's hard to imagine physical weapons serving the same purpose. But it's easy to see how hacktivists might - especially if you broaden the opponents to include hate groups and rapacious multinationals.

Marcus Sakey

As the Occupy Movement demonstrated, it's tough to change anything when you're talking about everything.

Marcus Sakey

When people ask me where I get my ideas, I lie. I tell them I draw inspiration from the news, the world, my dreams. Or I joke and say that I steal from other writers. I lie because I don't know where ideas come from, and I'm afraid if I look too hard, they'll stop coming.

Marcus Sakey