Owing to being a writer, I’m often asked whether I majored in English or literature. In fact, I never took any college course beyond the required freshman English. I also never participated in any writing groups or seminars.
Whatever skills I’ve acquired have come from a single source, and one that is common to every writer I know—a passion for reading. In particular, during and immediately after my college years, I began reading spy thrillers voraciously, sinking deep into tales of Jason Bourne and The Jackal. These classics taught me the most important lesson of writing: It’s all about the storytelling.