Bad guys are not bad guys twenty-four hours a day.

I spent most of my dough on booze, broads and boats and the rest I wasted.

My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: When you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can't allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.

The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in.

What do you tell a man with two black eyes? Nothing, he's already been told twice.

It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to sound like it does.

Using adverbs is a mortal sin.

At the time I begin writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is follow a plot outline. To know too much at the start takes the pleasure out of discovering what the book is about.

Try not to write the parts that people skip.

All the information you need can be given in dialogue.

I tried to do my best impression of The Jonas Brothers, but no matter how hard I tried I ended up looking cool!

Through Biblical times, there have been great women warriors and now the sport is so populated that these are the women warriors that we have today in boxing, kickboxing, and MMA.

I am an atheist because there is no evidence for the existence of God. That should be all that needs to be said about it: no evidence, no belief.

And it is a great thing to die in your own bed, though it is better still to die in your boots.

Latin Americans have gotten tired of the Washington consensus - a neoliberalism that has aggravated misery and poverty.

Don't bother explaining--I've heard all the excuses and the trouble is most of them are true.

It takes our government an awful lot of time to do most things competently, and that's part of the problem here.

Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible.

I probably just want to leave a trace of myself behind in this world.

I never said Well, I don't have this and I don't have that. I said, I don't have this yet, but I'm going to get it.