Andrew Vachss

The idea that you're not a writer until you're published is a lie. ”

My life is triage. ”

Crime takes the pulse of a culture. It tells us the truth about us as a species. ”

I write everything in Courier 12 because I write for publication, not pleasure. ”

I don't understand people whose gratification is a BMW. You don't know what joy is until you see a kid who was tortured get adopted by a family. ”

While early childhood experiences may impel, they do not compel. In the end, evil is a matter of choice. ”

All children are born pure egoists. They perceive their needs to the exclusion of all others. Only through socialization do they learn that some forms of gratification must be deferred and others denied. ”

Victimizers of children are the enemies of any so-called society. ”

No politician is threatened by the child protective constituency, because it does not exist. ”

Anyone who says, 'Books don't change anything,' or - more commonly - that crime fiction is the wrong genre for promoting social change - should take a closer look. ”