Giving full rein to one's cynicism as one goes along produces a normal outlet and maintains an emotional equilibrium.

There simply must be a corpse in a detective novel, and the deader the corpse the better.

Only, as long as we're going insane we may as well go the whole way. A mere shred of sanity is of no value.

There are few punishments too severe for a popular novel writer.

But society is ignorant and venomous, devoid of any trace of insight or understanding. It exalts knavery, and worships stupidity. It crucifies the intelligent, and puts the diseased in dungeons.

Familiarity makes the lion more dangerous.

Pretending is the fastest way to believing, and believing is the fastest way to receiving.

The best thing about serial drama - especially about screwball comedy - is blocked love.

They'll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run.

For me, drawing generates thinking and vice versa.

It is very difficult for the prosperous to be humble.

I can't deal with the press; I hate all those Beatles questions.

The stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare, and cronyism at their worst.

A character is like an acrostic or Alexandrian stanza; - read it forward, backward, or across, it still spells the same thing.

We couldn't get along without him. We needed Johnny as much as he needed the gang. And for the same reason.