Robert Crais Quotes

Powerful Robert Crais for Daily Growth

About Robert Crais

Robert Crais (born August 14, 1953) is an American author best known for his crime fiction novels, particularly those featuring detective Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Born in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Crais moved to Los Angeles at the age of twelve, where he would later set many of his stories. Crais' interest in storytelling began early. He worked as a script reader for various Hollywood studios before turning to writing novels. His first novel, "The Monkey's Raincoat," published in 1987, introduced Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, characters who would become staples of modern detective fiction. The book won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel and launched Crais' successful career. Crais' works often reflect his experiences living in Los Angeles. He has said that he is influenced by Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, and Dashiell Hammett, masters of the detective genre. His novels blend crime stories with complex characters and social commentary, exploring themes such as loneliness, friendship, and the nature of justice. In addition to the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series, Crais has also written standalone novels like "Demolition Angel" (2009) and "The Sentry" (2015). He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Edgar Award, the Anthony Award, and the Shamus Award. Crais continues to write and live in Los Angeles. His novels are beloved by readers worldwide for their gripping stories, memorable characters, and insightful portrayals of life in America's cultural capital.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Fear doesn't shut you down, it wakes you up."

This quote suggests that fear, rather than causing paralysis or inhibition, serves as a catalyst for heightened awareness and action. In other words, fear can motivate an individual to be more alert, vigilant, and proactive in response to perceived threats or challenges. It implies that when we are afraid, we are not passive; instead, we become more acutely attuned to our surroundings and our own capabilities, thereby enabling us to take necessary actions to protect ourselves or solve problems effectively.


"The truth is always a surprise."

The quote "The truth is always a surprise" emphasizes that discovering the truth often brings unexpected outcomes or revelations, as it can deviate from our preconceived notions or assumptions about a situation or person. This underscores the unpredictable nature of truth, making it both intriguing and impactful when revealed.


"A dog can sense the difference between a true friend and an enemy."

This quote by Robert Crais suggests that dogs, due to their acute sensitivity and intuition, are capable of distinguishing genuine companions from potential threats or adversaries. Essentially, they can intuitively perceive and respond to the emotional states and intentions of others, forming a bond with those who are kind and trustworthy while staying wary of those who may be harmful or untrustworthy. This ability makes them not only loyal friends but also effective protectors.


"The world moves on, whether we want it to or not."

This quote by Robert Crais signifies the inexorable flow of time and change that characterizes our existence. Regardless of personal desires or intentions, the universe persists in its forward momentum. It serves as a reminder that resistance to change, though natural, may hinder growth and progress, urging us to adapt and evolve with the world around us.


"There's a fine line between obsession and love, and sometimes you don't know which side of it you're on until you've crossed it."

This quote by Robert Crais suggests that the boundaries between deep affection (love) and an all-consuming fixation (obsession) can be subtle and indistinct. It implies that one may not recognize when they have moved from a healthy, balanced state of love into the territory of obsession until they've already crossed that line. This quote encourages introspection and self-awareness to maintain emotional balance in relationships.


I have these huge black foam boards on the wall, and tacked to them, I have these white punch cards with my story ideas, scenes and notes.

- Robert Crais

Black, Cards, Notes, Foam

People come to L.A. because they're chasing that dream of a better life. That's why I came here, because I thought it would be a place where I would find other people like me; people who wanted to write, people who had a dream of being something else. And that proved to be true.

- Robert Crais

Thought, Here, Other, Better Life

I admire people who re-create themselves. And it seems to me that what gives us all the opportunity to be heroic in our own lives is that we work to heal ourselves and be better than we were yesterday.

- Robert Crais

Work, Own, Lives, Heal

I love, love writing about Los Angeles. I love exploring every part of it. And I find, rather than a burden, it's actually one of the most enjoyable parts of the writing process for me. I love everything about L.A. Okay, not the traffic. But I love the way it looks. I love the geography. I love the diversity.

- Robert Crais

Love, Rather, Part, Writing Process

My books come to me in images, and sometimes the image is at the beginning of the book, and sometimes it's simply a flash somewhere in the middle.

- Robert Crais

Middle, Image, Images, Flash

I was digging for stuff in a used bookstore, and I came upon 'Little Sister.' I fell in love with Chandler that night. I fell right down the rabbit hole of crime fiction.

- Robert Crais

Love, Night, Fiction, Digging

The sense of smell in all dogs is their primary doorway to the world around them.

- Robert Crais

World, Dogs, Sense, Primary

I had a big Akita, Yoshi, who was fabulous. I loved him. We lost him when he was 12, and I've never been able to replace him. Normally, most people lose a pet and get another and keep going on. But it just felt wrong to me; it felt disloyal.

- Robert Crais

Big, Been, Another, Normally

I had wanted to be a novelist for so long, but I didn't have a story. That story came from the death of my father, and wrestling with how to help my mother. Writing it allowed me to work through my fears, frustrations and desires. I wanted control over the situation. And I wasn't sure I would have any in real life.

- Robert Crais

Death, Through, Allowed, Frustrations

Sometimes I am so dry that people don't know I'm kidding and think I'm being serious. I enjoy this because their reactions are often funny.

- Robert Crais

Enjoy, Think, Sometimes, Reactions

At Lackland Air Force Base, they make an effort to retrain military dogs that suffer from PTSD. It's a lengthy, long process. The treatment is much the same as it would be for people, but it's a difficult road back.

- Robert Crais

Effort, Back, Treatment, Base

I began to encounter real-life stories of dogs protecting their wounded or dying or dead handler... or dogs refusing to leave the bodies of the people they were bonded to, sitting in cemeteries for days or sometimes weeks. You find these stories endlessly.

- Robert Crais

Refusing, Endlessly, Weeks, Bonded

I think every writer of detective fiction writing today has been influenced by Mr. Parker. I'm of a generation that followed Robert Parker, and it was impossible to read the genre and not be influenced by him.

- Robert Crais

Generation, Think, Been, Parker

I don't think about the gender of my readers or about reader expectations. I'm frankly scared to. I figured out a long time ago that if I tried to guess the audience, it would be like me trying to guess which stocks to buy.

- Robert Crais

Gender, Buy, Reader, Scared

I have this horrible weakness. I fall in love with my characters. 'Suspect' started as a one-shot, but I just love Maggie so much, and I love Maggie and Scott and what they have going.

- Robert Crais

Love, Going, Started, Scott

Quite a few of the dogs that come back from Afghanistan or Iraq or police dogs that are involved in violent confrontations where there's gunfire can in fact exhibit the symptoms and suffer from PTSD.

- Robert Crais

Fact, Violent, Iraq, Exhibit

No other animal bonds to a human being the way a dog does. And I suspect there is no other animal to which human beings can bond the way we can bond to a dog.

- Robert Crais

Other, Human Being, Which, Suspect

If my vision was good enough, I'd be an astronaut.

- Robert Crais

Good, Vision, Enough, Astronaut

I love the fact that you collaborate with your readers when you write a book.

- Robert Crais

Love, Fact, I Love, Collaborate

I'll bet you $10 right now that there are an awful lot of literary writers who started a long time ago and now they find themselves in this place where secretly they feel trapped. And you know what they really read for fun? They read crime fiction.

- Robert Crais

Fiction, Awful Lot, Literary, Secretly

There's the Hollywood sign; there's Griffith Observatory; there's the great, amazing Los Angeles Basin. It's 465 square miles of insanity and the best food on the planet.

- Robert Crais

Insanity, Hollywood, Angeles, Los Angeles

Everything we are is anchored in our childhoods. The drama comes in how we deal with it. Are we slaves to our past, or can we rise above it? This is the stuff of great stories.

- Robert Crais

Deal, Slaves, Great Stories, Rise

My fiction is almost always inspired by a character's need or desire to rise above him- or herself. No one is perfect and some of us have much adversity in our lives; it is those people who struggle to rise above their nature or background that I find the most interesting and heroic.

- Robert Crais

Rise Above, Perfect, Some, Rise

My first job was cleaning dog kennels. It was especially, ah, aromatic during those hot, humid Louisiana summers, but it prepared me for Hollywood.

- Robert Crais

Cleaning, Hollywood, Summers, First Job

I tried to reject everything I knew as a TV writer when I decided to be a novelist, and the books didn't work. Finally I realized I should go back to all the techniques I'd learned.

- Robert Crais

Work, TV, Learned, Novelist

The relationship between a military working dog and a military dog handler is about as close as a man and a dog can become. You see this loyalty, the devotion, unlike any other and the protectiveness.

- Robert Crais

Loyalty, Other, About, Close

What they smell isn't the emotion of fear. What dogs can smell is the changes in a person's skin that suggest fear to the dog, anxiety, the way your skin sweats, the amount of uric acid that suddenly pours out of your pores.

- Robert Crais

Changes, Skin, Amount, Sweats

First and foremost I am a commercial writer, and I hope to entertain people. But having said that, I'm in love with the relationship between humans and dogs, and the more I learned about what our military working dogs are doing, I wanted to at least share with people what an important role these animals have in all our lives.

- Robert Crais

Love, Commercial, Entertain, All Our Lives

Writing a book is a long and difficult process for me. I'm a slow writer, so I spend the year with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike in my head. I was thinking about this the other day. I wrote the first book in 1987. Literally every day since that time, Elvis and Joe have been in my head. They're always there. I started these guys because I like them.

- Robert Crais

Other, Been, Joe, Elvis

My family was all police and hard hats at the refineries; they didn't know what to think about me. So I became a closet writer.

- Robert Crais

Think, Hats, Became, Police

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