Kathy Reichs

“At first I probably seem very abrupt, but I like efficiency. There's work and there's play, and I always think: 'Let's get the work over with so we can thoroughly enjoy the play.'”

“I tend to watch a lot of movies at home. It's nice to be close to the refrigerator with my pyjamas on and just relax.”

“If you want to be an anthropologist, you need to study physical anthropology specialized in bones. If you want to be a forensic chemist, get a degree in chemistry. Do you want to do DNA work? Get a degree in microbiology. And do well. Study hard and go to graduate school.”

“I've been accused of being a minimalist writer. I don't like a lot of verbiage in there.”

“I've never lost my capacity to be shocked.”

“Many fiction writers who put the science in don't get it right.”

“Bones tell me the story of a person's life - how old they were, what their gender was, their ancestral background.”

“I'm not writing great literature. I'm writing commercial fiction for people to enjoy the stories and to like the characters.”

“I was a university professor, I could talk on and on and on. Give me a podium and you have to drag me off with a hook.”

“I work with the dead, but I am working for the living.”

“Contacting a government office on a weekend is like phoning the Pope on Easter morning.”

“I do interviews and signings and readings and all of these people just hang off my every word. And then I go home and have dinner with my family and nobody lets me get a word in.”

“One of the surprising things I hadn't expected when I decided to write crime fiction is how much you are expected to be out in front of the public. Some writers aren't comfortable with that. I don't have a problem with that.”

“You'd be naive if you think you are going to retain any control once you option a character to TV.”

“So what's the plan?” Ben asked.“Go inside. Look around. Improvise.”“Brilliant." Hi stroked his chin. “Quick question: Is having no plan the same as having a terrible plan, or are those different categories?”

“What gives my books authenticity is that I actually do what it is I'm writing about. I think the fact that I am in the autopsy room, I go to the crime scene and I do work in the lab gives my books this flavor that otherwise they wouldn't have.”

“Remember, I might be the wind, but you control the kite.”

“An elite confederacy of nerds. My peeps”

“Hi's nose was pressed to his window. “I've changed my mind, Tory. This is the perfect place to hold someone prisoner. I'm keeping this on file.”

“Murder mysteries are puzzles that are fun to resolve.”