—and I say you still haven't answered my question, Father Blue."" Haven't I, dear lady? I thought I stated that death is merely the beginning

— John Jakes

Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.

— John Jakes

He could never be anything more than what he was: the inheritor of weakness and unbridled emotion, a creature possessed by the past, and carrying its curse forever into the future--

— John Jakes

Human beings may be inconsistent, but human nature is true to itself

— John Jakes

I have always had a special affinity for libraries and librarians, for the most obvious reasons. I love books. (One of my first Jobs was shelving books at a branch of the Chicago Public Library.) Libraries are a pillar of any society. I believe our lack of attention to funding and caring for them properly in the United States has a direct bearing on problems of literacy, productivity, and our inability to compete in today's world. Libraries are every man's free university.

— John Jakes

No writer should minimize the factor that affects everyone but is beyond control: luck.

— John Jakes

The best that could be left behind by any man: children who had been brought up to behave responsibly and to believe in something beyond their own self gratification. (The Americans

— John Jakes