it is axiomatic with most writing people that there are no such things as perfect conditions for work.

[When working on a book] I have an almost complete detachment from the world I live in, a sort of armor against distraction. I talk to people, move about, appear on the surface much as usual. But later on I have only a confused memory of what has happened during that period.

The greatest weapon in the world ... is ridicule.

I suppose that we are only young, Chris, so long as we can forget. After that we merely remember!

A little work, a little sleep, a little love and it's all over.

as all women know, there are really no men at all. There are grown-up boys, and middle-aged boys, and elderly boys, and even sometimes very old boys. But the essential difference is simply exterior. Your man is always a boy.

Every crucial experience can be regarded either as a setback, or the start of a wonderful new adventure, it depends on your perspective!