“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“An unpublished writer should doubt themselves.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.”

“When he worked, he really worked. But when he played, he really PLAYED.”

“Back in the days when gladiators hacked away at each other, there was always the man who decided whether the defeated should live or die. The job is usually given to the Emperor in movies, but in f...”

“Pursuing fun is exhausting. Having fun is just fun. Much more relaxing just to do your work, don't you think? I mean if you enjoy it.”

“I love you best, and I'll miss you forever.”

“Oh, Caddy," said Saffron miserably."I know. It's awful. But I'm going. We all should.""It will be so sad.""You have to be sad sometimes," said Caddy. "Whatever Dad says. He may be right. Granddad p...”

“I never saw a dollar bill cry at anyone's funeral.”

“Samson caused the house to collapse, knowing his death would also result. Despite Samsons deliberate suicide, Samson died faithful after having judged Israel for 20 years. His name rightly appears ...”

“Yes, it was a "beautiful" sermon, tugging the emotions and conjuring up pictures of greatness and peace. But were they talking about the decent peppery ordinary old man he knew, or had the subject ...”