Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.

One aspect of serendipity to bear in mind is that you have to be looking for something in order to find something else.

If you want to write fiction, the best thing you can do is take two aspirins, lie down in a dark room, and wait for the feeling to pass.

If you build a better mousetrap, Nature will build a better mouse.

I haven't got anything against cats. I haven't got anything against elk either, but that doesn't mean I'm going to keep one in the store so I'll have a place to hang my hat.

I don't know about the rest of the country but in New York more people have learned anonymity from rent control than ever discovered it in a twelve-step program.

The short story, I should point out, is perforce a labor of love in today's literary world; there's precious little economic incentive to write one.