Quotes from Donald E. Westlake

When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man.

I do bookstore signings, and it seems to me that I get a variety of men and women, more women than I'd expect, and grown-ups among my readers.

When Stark isn't off sulking somewhere, or whatever he's doing when he won't return my calls, I alternate between the two. That usually works well, though occasionally an idea for the wrong guy drifts through my mind.

Westlake is allusive, indirect, referential, a bit rococo, Stark strips his sentences down to the necessary information.

Whenever things sound easy, it turns out there's one part you didn't hear.

If you think of movie studio executives, say, as society, then I root for the independent producers.

The critics didn't like it at all. They felt it was crude and violent without meaning, and they dumped on it. 'Point Blank' marked a shift in movie-making, and they weren't ready for it. However, I think those were the last negative words ever said about it.

I love Hammett, never liked Chandler - I'm one of the few.

In order to hold your faith intact be sure it's kept unsullied by fact.

In a funny way, the stories keep themselves alive by emerging from one another. I like that.