“Like all fiction, my lies are just my efforts to be truer than the truth.”

“The characters act for reasons that they cant control and, as readers, we have to believe in their motivations, their sense of choice and in the reality of their suffering, even though, deep down, ...”

“An unpublished writer should doubt themselves. They should constantly wonder whether what theyre creating has merit. And then, having doubted, they should take up their pen and see if they cant mak...”

“Publishers are businesses and I dont blame them for that. If they didnt make money by publishing books, there wouldnt be any books.”

“A good book is not the same as a successful one.”

“A novel must be judged on its merits, not on how hard the journey was to write it.”

“My tattoos, like most people's, were reminders, badges of personal experiences. Yes, I might wear them on my skin for the world to see, but their meaning was a little too personal.”

“What most people see is a badge, behind and beyond the badge is what they need to know...the person.”

“Most undercover cops are vastly skilled at compartmentalization. It is a talent as valued as lying. They seal off their real feelings and create imitation emotions. Easily torn down when it's time ...”

“I almost thought that marriage was a cure to loneliness, alas! so many are lonely inside marriage. Then I realized it's not marriage that takes the loneliness away, but when both within marriage ho...”

“I know nothing about war. But let me tell you what I believe. I think running from responsibility breeds self-loathing and despair. I think people can, and do, rise to the occasion, and even a sing...”

“Do I understand, sir, that you mean the Cause for which our heroes have died is not sacred?'If you were run over by a railroad train your death wouldnt sanctify the railroad company, would it?' ask...”

“Publishing a book is like stuffing a note into a bottle and hurling it into the sea. Some bottles drown, some come safe to land, where the notes are read and then possibly cherished, or else misint...”

“A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down. If it is a good book nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book nothing can help him.”

“As a young man just beginning to publish some short fiction in the t&a magazines, I was fairly optimistic about my chances of getting published; I knew that I had some game, as the basketball playe...”