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A man asking for help ought to at least give directions.

Barbara Mertz

The way to get on with a cat is to treat it as an equal – or even better, as the superior it knows itself to be.
BARBARA MERTZ

Cat Treats Way
It may take us a little longer to reach the summit, but never fear, we will get there!
BARBARA MERTZ

Determination Littles May
a church ought to express the joy of religion as well as its majesty.
BARBARA MERTZ

Church Joy Majesty
I do not scruple to employ mendacity and a fictitious appearance of female incompetence when the occasion demands it.
BARBARA MERTZ

Appearance Demand Female
I am so tired of ruggedly handsome heroes. I don’t know too many ruggedly handsome people who are necessarily nice people. In fact, the beautiful people have a big handicap because they rely too much on their appearance and don’t bother to become interesting.
BARBARA MERTZ

Beautiful Hero Nice
I have no writing habit. I work when I feel like it, and I work when I have to – mostly the latter.
BARBARA MERTZ

Habit Latter Writing
But the dust! And the clutter! My housewifely and scholarly instincts were equally offended.
BARBARA MERTZ

Dust Instinct Scholarly
Giving other people advice is one of the most irritating and useless activities known to man.
BARBARA MERTZ

Giving Men People
I had refused Emerson’s well-meant offers of assistance, knowing his efforts would be confined to moving the furniture to the wrong places and demanding how much longer the process would take.
BARBARA MERTZ

Effort Knowing Moving
There was no warning, not even a knock. The door flew open, and he forgot his present aches and pains in anticipation of what lay in store. The figure that stood in the door was not that of an enemy. It was worse. It was his mother.
BARBARA MERTZ

Doors Mother Pain
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be the respected patriarch of an ordinary English family.” “Very boring, Emerson.
BARBARA MERTZ

English Ordinary Sometimes Wonder
Conventional history completely ignores half the human race.
BARBARA MERTZ

Half History Race
Money was the manure of politics.
BARBARA MERTZ

Manure Money Politics
He hesitated for a moment. Then he said softly, “I love you, Mother.” He took my hand and kissed it, and folded my fingers round the stem of the rose. He had stripped it of its thorns.
BARBARA MERTZ

Love Mother Son You
I would never have supposed that inexperienced girl was capable of such cold-blooded, calculating manipulation!
BARBARA MERTZ

Cold Girl Manipulation
Sometimes the characters develop almost without your knowing it. You find them doing things you hadn’t planned on, and then I have to go back to page 42 and fix things. I’m not recommending it as a way to write. It’s very sloppy, but it works for me.
BARBARA MERTZ

Character Knowing Writing

A man asking for help ought to at least give directions.

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A man asking for help ought to at least give directions.

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Popular Authors

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