Yeah. Floyd is his batman." His what?" Batman, like in the British army, each officer had a batman, a personal servant." You spend too much time reading, Spenser. You know more stuff that don't make you money than anybody I know.

College had little effect on me. I'd have been the same writer if I'd gone to MIT, except I'd have flunked out sooner.

There can never be any substitute for your own palate nor any better education than tasting the wine yourself.

Very few of my books are about who stole the Maltese Falcon

Writer's block? I've never heard of a plumber complain about plumber's block.

This was 1954, friends. The girls' dorm was off limits. Even to girls, I think.

I have reached the point where I know that as long as I sit down to write, the ideas will come. What they will be, I don't know.