Writing is the only thing in my life that doesn't get easier. It just doesn't.

I know absolutely nothing about the 20th Century.

The pain is bad magicians ripping off good ones, doing magic badly, and making a mockery of the art.

If it sounds too good to be true, it always is.

Sitting with a deck of cards in your hand all day is an obsession. Visiting print shops and bookstores and libraries is an obsession. And writing about this is an obsession. I think, in general, most collectors are obsessed. I think the only form of a rationalized greed is when you're collecting something you are supposedly serious about.

That's one of the ways language evolved, by some very obscure form becoming common usage. And I must say that I'm very intrigued by use of language and slang, and criminal underground terms.

I grew up like Athena — covered with playing cards instead of armor — and, at the age of seven, materialized on a TV show, doing magic.