I think that in order to write really well and convincingly, one must be somewhat poisoned by emotion.

A placated bully is a hand-fed bully.

I am not belittling the brave pioneer men but the sunbonnet as well as the sombrero has helped to settle this glorious land of ours.

Books should be cherished, like children, books are for the next generation, like children, like history.

Texas history is a varied, tempestuous, and vast as the state itself. Texas yesterday is unbelievable, but no more incredible than Texas today. Today's Texas is exhilarating, exasperating, violent, charming, horrible, delightful, alive.

Writing is not an amusing occupation. It is a combination of ditch-digging, mountain-climbing, treadmill and childbirth.

Being an old maid is like death by drowning, a really delightful sensation after you cease to struggle.