"Most writers are in a state of gloom a good deal of the time; they need perpetual reassurance."      John Hall Wheelock

"If you were a member of Jesse James’ band and people asked you what you were, you wouldn’t say, ‘Well I’m a desperado.’ You’d say something like ‘I work in banks’ or ‘I’ve done some railroad work.’  It took me a long time just to say ‘I’m a writer’.  It’s really embarrassing. "   Ray Blount, Jr.