“Science fiction is a weird category, because it's the only area of fiction I can think of where the story is not of primary importance. Science fiction tends to be more about the science, or the invention of the fantasy world, or the political allegory. When I left science fiction, I said "They're more interested in planets, and I'm interested in people."” PeopleThinkingWorldPoliticalFantasyImportanceScience FictionInventionAllegory 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
“My wife says in Richard Stark's world, the honest citizens are goofy. Okay, they are. I don't know if it's good or bad, but because he's outside his own world, it sort of freed up the environment around him to be a little more looser and goofier.” WorldEnvironmentWifeHonestOkayMy WifeGoofy Author:Donald E. Westlake
“My work schedule has changed over the years. The one constant is, when at work on a novel, I try to work seven days a week, so as not to lose touch with that world. Within that, I'm flexible on hours and output.” WorldTryingYearsHoursLosesNovelWeekChangedConstantSevenSchedulesFlexibleOutputSeven Days Author:Donald E. Westlake
