“I learned to write crime novels by reading people I hoped to emulate: ...” — Michael Connelly Quote

I learned to write crime novels by reading people I hoped to emulate: people like James Lee Burke, Lawrence Block, Joseph Wambaugh, and Sue Grafton.

My grandparents were all born in the U.S., but their parents came from Ireland.

I'm a disciple of Raymond Chandler, who said in his essays that there's a quality of redemption in anything that can be called art.

The act of reading a story is sacred, and people build images and all that stuff.

Deep in my heart it still feels like I'm a journalist even though I haven't worked for a paper and carried a press pass for 14 years.

It's so easy to block people and turn comments off but some people obsess over it and sit and read it over and over.

I love blocking people. I'm not afraid to block anybody.

It's tough being a dictator, but I've always thought it must be tougher being a hanger-on to a dictator. The late nights spent listening to his crazed ranting, the weary rictus grin from smiling at bad jokes, the draining knowledge that one misjudged comment could land you on the chopping block.

I feel like you'll be most successful in life if you just try to block the noise, sometimes the hate can be louder than the love.

Lots of times I have to leave the goal to block a ball.