What, After All, Is More Real To

Wilkie Collins Was A Rival And Competitor Of Dickens. His Novel Moonstone Sold More Copies At The Time Than Dickens' Last Two Books. But That Meant Nothing In The Long Run. Right Now, To Be Honest, Wilkie Collins Is What He Deserved To Be Back Then: A Footnote, An Almost Lost Memory. And He Knew He Would Become That.

Belief In One's Identity As A Poet Or Writer Prior To The Acid Test Of Publication Is As Naive And Harmless As The Youthful Belief In One's Immortality... And The Inevitable Disillusionment Is Just As Painful.

Seduction... Was Both A Science And Art - A Blend Of Skill, Discipline, Proximity, And Opportunity. Mostly Proximity.

In Such Seconds Of Decision Entire Futures Are Made.

No One Inspired Me To Write, But Writer Harlan Ellison Terrified Me Into Getting Published.