I read very widely, both non-fiction and fiction, so I don't think there's a single writer who influences me.

Writing is sweat and drudgery most of the time. And you have to love it in order to endure the solitude and the discipline.

Look, Chief, you can't go off half-cocked looking for vengeance against a fish. That shark isn't evil. It's not a murderer. It's just obeying its own instincts. Trying to get retribution against a fish is crazy.

If man doesn't learn to treat the oceans and the rain forest with respect, man will become extinct.

Without the oceans there would be no life on Earth.

I've never been hurt by a sea creature, except for jellyfish and sea urchins.

The fish was an enemy. It had come upon the community and killed two men, a woman, and a child. The people of Amity would demand the death of the fish. They would need to see it dead before they could feel secure enough to resume their normal lives.