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

You're gonna need a bigger boat.

I know now that the mythic monster I created was largely a fiction.

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.

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

No, the shark in an updated JAWS could not be the villain; it would have to be written as the victim, for, worldwide, sharks are much more the oppressed than the oppressors.

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