Being famous as a writer is like being famous in a village. It's not really any very heady fame.
Peter CareyAnd it's always possible that you will not get a nice review. So - and that's enraging of course, to get a bad review, you can't talk back, and it's sort of shaming in a way.
Peter CareyWhat I find really attractive is something that's going to be a little dangerous. Something that might get me into trouble; you know, you turn up in London and you've just rewritten Dickens. And, of course, then you think, 'What have I done?
Peter Carey