Quotes from Gillian Flynn

Ever since I was a child, I've been a huge comic and graphic novel fan, but I've never tried writing one before.

Women are just as violently minded as men are, but with men, it's taken for granted.

I think women are very ambidextrous. We don't think twice about reading a book or a movie starring guys. But for guys, it's, like, 'Oh my God, that's a woman thing.' So with my son, I very carefully portion out the female heroes and characters to make sure he's getting an equal amount.

A great thriller, to me, is more about creating a sense of unease: a queasiness that comes with knowing something is not quite right.

I think mystery writers and thriller writers - whatever genre you want to call it - are taking on some of the biggest, most interesting kind of socioeconomic issues around in a really interesting, compelling way.

I think there is something very relatable in the idea that you hit a certain age, later in your life, where you realize you have to pick up the rug and see what's underneath it and deal with stuff.

I do spend - I feel like I spend about my first 20 minutes at any cocktail party convincing people that I'm not going to harm them in some way.

I've never been interested in watching or reading anything because it's the hero's story. I don't feel the need to be inspired by the character or learn a lesson. I feel the need to be engaged by them.

'Rosemary's Baby' is one of my all-time favorite books. I love that it just ends with, you know, 'Hey, the devil's in the world, and guess what? Mom kind of likes him!' And that's the end.

Books and movies are kind of my two great loves. I don't have too many other actual hobbies. That's pretty much it.

You drink a little too much and try a little too hard. And you go home to a cold bed and think, That was fine. And your life is a long line of fine.

The truly frightening flaw in humanity is our capacity for cruelty - we all have it.

Problems always start long before you really, really see them.

I feel myself trying to be charming, and then I realize I'm obviously trying to be charming, and then I try to be even more charming to make up for the fake charm, and then I've basically turned into Liza Minnelli: I'm dancing in tights and sequins, begging you to love me. There's a bowler and jazz hands and lots of teeth.

People say children from broken homes have it hard, but the children of charmed marriages have their own particular challenges.

Because you can't be as in love as we were and not have it invade your bone marrow. Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world's sweetest cancer.

Safer to be feared than loved.

The worst feeling: when you just have to wait and prepare yourself for the lie.

It was surprising that you could spend hours in the middle of the night pretending things were okay, and know in thirty seconds of daylight that simply wasn't so

and you drink a little too much and try a little too hard. And you go home to a cold bed and think, 'That was fine'. And your life is a long line of fine.

My dad had limitations. That's what my good-hearted mom always told us. He had limitations, but he meant no harm. It was kind of her to say, but he did do harm.

I felt a queasy mixture of relief and horror: when you finally stop an itch and realize it's because you've ripped a hole in your skin.

I ached once, hard, like a period typed at the end of a sentence.

To spend a life in dreams, that sounded too lovely.