Avoid prologues: they can be ­annoying, especially a prologue ­following an introduction that comes after a foreword.

I started out of course with Hemingway when I learned how to write. Until I realized Hemingway doesn't have a sense of humor. He never has anything funny in his stories.

I don't believe in writer's block or waiting for inspiration. If you're a writer, you sit down and write.

I don't judge in my books. I don't have to have the antagonist get shot or the protagonist win. It's just how it comes out. I'm just telling a story.

Avoid prologues: they can be ­annoying, especially a prologue ­following an introduction that comes after a foreword.

At the time I begin writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is follow a plot outline. To know too much at the start takes the pleasure out of discovering what the book is about.

I spent most of my dough on booze, broads and boats and the rest I wasted.