My father, to whom I owe so much, never told me the difference between right and wrong; now I think that's why I remain so greatly in his debt.

There is always time for failure

To escape jury duty in England, wear a bowler hat and carry a copy of the Daily telegraph.

The shelf life of the modern hardback writer is somewhere between the milk and the yoghurt.

No brilliance is needed in the law. Nothing but common sense, and relatively clean finger nails.

All the flower children were as alike as a congress of accountants and about as interesting.

Never believe a rumour until you hear it officially denied.

We don't know much about the human conscience, except that it is soluble in alcohol.

The secret of good health and happiness is to have rather small illnesses throughout your life which you can rely on to stop you doing anything you don't want to do.

Hell must be a place where you are only allowed to read what you agree with.

I suppose that writers should, in a way, feel flattered by the censorship laws. They show a primitive fear and dread at the fearful magic of print.

Never give up! And write for yourself first and foremost.

A walking shadow a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.

Child of mortality, whence comest thou? Why is thy countenance sad, and why are thine eyes red with weeping?

Never to have occasion to take a position, to make up one's mind, or to define oneself - there is no wish I make more often.

Until politics are a branch of science, we shall do well to regard political and social reforms as experiments rather than short-cuts to the millennium.

I think I write more outspoken than the average rapper.

Praise and disgrace cause fear.

Only by seeking challenges can we hope to find the best in ourselves.

One day there were two out in the ninth, and I hit a pop fly so high that the fans got tired of waiting for it to come down. So they all went home and listened to it drop by turning on the radio.

Every novel begins with the speculative question, What if "X" happened? That's how you start.