James Luceno

“I spent about a year traveling overland from Egypt through Sudan and Ethiopia, and eventually into East Africa.”

“Breaking a cardinal rule of spy craft, I actually let it be known that I wanted to work for the CIA.”

“As was the case in 'Darth Plagueis' - even going back as far as 'Cloak of Deception' - I was well aware that I was writing what used to be called 'men's adventure' fiction.”

“While my favorite book of short stories is Fredrick Brown's 'Nightmares and Geezenstacks,' my favorite single story is 'Sound of Thunder,' by Ray Bradbury.”

“Fifteen years ago, my wife and I purchased an authentic log cabin in Maryland. Painstakingly restored since, the cabin sits on a forested bluff high above a wide river frequented by ospreys, eagles, geese, herons, and other water fowl.”

“Rarely did events play out as imagined, in any case. The order of future events was transient. In the same way that the past was reconfigured by selective memory, future events, too, were moving targets. One could only act on instinct, grab hold of an intuited perfect moment, and spring into action.”

“'Star Wars' novels that focus on a single character are few and far between.”

“You look at the history of any sentient species and what do you find but tableaux of violence and slaughter. It’s finger-painted on the ceilings of caves and engraved into the walls of temples.”

“There are aspects of writing that require you to image yourself in various roles and guises, to stand in the shoes of others, to 'act' on an inner stage.”

“Even the brightest of dreams-come-true had shadowy recesses.”

“If we aren't willing to do whatever is required," he said finally, "then we risk losing what we have been mandated to protect.”