No Pilar," Agustin said. "You are not smart. You are brave. You are loyal. You have decision. You have intuition. Much decision and much heart. But you are not smart.

Fish," he said, "I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.

Before you quit, you have to try

Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.

Real seriousness in regard to writing being one of the two absolute necessities. The other, unfortunately, is talent.

You cannot stop trusting people in life but I have learned to be a little bit careful. The way to make people trust-worthy is to trust them.

As to Hemingway, I read him for the first time in the early 'forties, something about bells, balls and bulls, and loathed it.