I want the reader to know what's going on. So there's never a mystery in my books.

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.

Let go of all the negative thoughts. Fill your mind with positive thoughts.

With your laugh my sorrows are relieved, with your love I forget about my problems, and by your side everything is better.

Publishers love to compartmentalize, and Second Chance was not an easy novel to define.

The psychiatrists examine you and ask you about your life and work, and then they decide whether your film can be shown or not. It's a horrible experience.

Meditate upon all the perfect light within your own mind! Do this repeatedly and the radiant Bodhisattvas of Wisdom and Laughter will visit you and change your karma forever!

Denial: my family heritage. If you don't ask the questions, the truth will never inconvenience you.

We must live like angels and produce like the devil!

It's hard to be someone that people talk about and write about, you know? They don't know me.

Live in the Acts of the Apostles, and every day you will see some miracle worked by the power of the living God.

Judged by the law of England, I know this crime entails upon me the penalty of death; but the history of Ireland explains that crime and justifies it.