Do you work for the government, any government?” "I pay taxes, which means I work for the government, part of the time. Yes.

I know, too, that death is the only god who comes when you call.

One of my standard - and fairly true - responses to the question as to how story ideas come to me is that story ideas only come to me for short stories. With longer fiction, it is a character (or characters) coming to visit, and I am then obliged to collaborate with him/her/it/them in creating the story.

Occasionally, there arises a writing situation where you see an alternative to what you are doing, a mad, wild gamble of a way for handling something, which may leave you looking stupid, ridiculous or brilliant -you just don't know which. You can play it safe there, too, and proceed along the route you'd mapped out for yourself. Or you can trust your personal demon who delivered that crazy idea in the first place. Trust your demon.

When inspiration is silent reason tires quickly.

Time passed slowly, like and old man climbing a hill.

No word matters. But man forgets reality and remembers words.