I suppose the short chapters and differing narrative points of view are quite "cinematic" devices, which came very naturally to me.

Clearly the secret of happiness...is a variation on the general principle of banging your head against a wall, and then stopping.

I despise this weakness in myself - this endless one-sided conversation that takes the place of action.

...it just goes to show you can't leave anything behind. You bring it all with you, whether you want to or not.

I definitely do feel a pull toward people and places that are far from my own life.

Just because we think of wolves (or the wilderness, or another race) as wild and fierce, doesn't mean there isn't another side to them.

I don't think I could write about someone I didn't feel some sympathy for.

I don't use real people for inspiration.

If writers stuck to firsthand experience, novels would be pretty limited.

Initially I only decided to try and write a novel because I wasn't getting enough screenwriting work. It wasn't a long-held ambition, and certainly the idea came first.

Gypsies are, to say the least, underrepresented in literature and film.

When we have suffered a little while, we are restored in strength.

Be not afraid of being called un-fashionable.

One word of caution—be careful how much you listen to the advice of others when in a deep pit of despair.

Don't thank me for telling the truth when it would have been mercy to lie to you.

I believe myself to be a worthwhile and inventive performer in my own right. But I'm not in a league with Lenny [Bruce], certainly not in terms of social commentary.

I am a positive person and do not allow things to get on top of me.

Like the measles, love is most dangerous when it comes late in life.

Another idea that is changing is that the leader must be one who can make quick decisions. The leader to-day is often one who thinks out his decisions very slowly.

I love [that] you smile at me, I love the way your hands reach out and hold me near... I believe this is heaven to no one else but me.

Nature is what she is - amoral and persistent.