Sometimes it is best for men not to attempt to interfere with destiny. Our prayers can be answered in ways which we do not expect and do not welcome.

beware of your most implacable enemy-yourself.

You don't turn out as many books as I did then by sitting around, being cozy with the family.

I'm not a good father and they're not children any more; the eldest is in his fifties. My relationship with their mothers broke down and, because of what the law was, they went with their mothers and were imbued with their mothers' morality in life and they were not my people any more.

I shot my first lion at the age of 14 when a pride threatened my father's livestock while he was away on holiday.

Write for yourself, not for a perceived audience. If you do, you'll mostly fall flat on your face, because it's impossible to judge what people want. And you have to read. That's how you learn what is good writing and what is bad. Then the main thing is application. It's hard work.

I want to be seen as a good storyteller. I'm a manipulator as well.