“A grifter's got an irresistible urge to be the guy who's wise. There's nothin' to whipping a fool. Hell, fools are made to be whipped. But to take another pro. Even your partner, who knows you and has his eye on you. That's a score! No matter what happens.” KnowsMadeMatterHappensEyeGuyHellWiseCrimeFoolBehaviorNo Matter WhatPartnersHis EyesScoreUrgesCheatingIrresistibleWhipping Author:Donald E. Westlake
“There are a couple of writers I admired who were very good at giving the character's emotion without stating what that emotion was. Not saying "He was feeling tense," instead saying, "His hand squeezed harder on the chair arm," as if staying outside the guy. I wanted to try doing that. I wanted to have a really emotional story in which the characters' emotions are never straight - out told to you, but you get it.” GivingTryingFeelingsGuyEmotionEmotionalCoupleVery Good Author:Donald E. Westlake
“In the first batch of readers, back in the '60s and '70s, the criminal class was still literate, so I would get letters from people in prison; they thought that I was somebody whom they could shop-talk with, and they would tell me very funny stories. I got a lot of those. Guys who were going to wind up doing 10 to 15 for bank robbery, yes, were reading my books.” PeopleBookGuyReadingPrisonRobberyFunny Story Author:Donald E. Westlake
“The other thing that I got back then - the Parker novels have never had much of anything to do with race. There have been a few black characters here and there, but the first batch of books back then, I got a lot of letters from urban black guys in their 20s, 30s, 40s. What were they seeing that they were reacting to? And I think I finally figured it out - at that time, they were guys who felt very excluded from society, that they had been rejected by the greater American world.” ThinkingWorldBookCharacterGuyBlackNovelRejectedUrban Author:Donald E. Westlake
“If you leave me here," the guy on the floor said, "he'll kill me tomorrow morning." Parker looked at him. "So you've still got tonight," he said.” IfsSaidStillsGuyMorningTomorrowTonightLeaving MeKill MeTomorrow Morning Author:Donald E. Westlake
“When the guy with asthma finally came in from the fire escape, Parker rabbit-punched him and took his gun away.” GuyFireGunRabbitsAsthmaFire Escapes Author:Donald E. Westlake
“Those 4 guys in the late 60's who attacked a jewel merchant on New York's West 46th St. on the sidewalk, so they could steal his jewel-filled station wagon, which they abandoned 2 blocks later because none of them could drive a stick shift. Where would I be without such people?” PeopleGuyNew YorkLateFilledSticksWestStealingBlockStationsAbandonedJewelsMerchantsSidewalkWagons Author:Donald E. Westlake
“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.” MindWellsTwoIdeasGuyReturnStarksSulkingWrong Guy Author:Donald E. Westlake
