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I can do a book in three months if I spend all day, seven days a week at it and, in fact, I work better that way.

Barbara Mertz

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Barbara Mertz
Age: 85 †
Born: 1927
Born: September 29
Died: 2013
Died: August 8
Archaeologist
Author
Egyptologist
Novelist
Writer
Canton
Illinois
Elizabeth Peters
Barbara Michaels
Barbara Louise Mertz
Days
Fact
Facts
Three
Better
Seven
Book
Spend
Work
Months
Way
Week

More quotes by Barbara Mertz

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Nefret had always had an uncanny ability to read his thoughts. 'Did she cry?' she asked sweetly. 'And then you kissed her? You shouldn't have done that. I'm sure you meant well, but kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.
Barbara Mertz
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I don't think she realized how much she cared for him, or he for her, until the end. Hasn't someone said a woman may be known by the men who love her enough to die for her? (If they haven't, I claim the credit myself.)
Barbara Mertz
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..he continues to cling to the forlorn hope that I will turn into one of those swooning females...and fling myself squeeling at him whenever anything happens. Like all men, he clings to his illusions.
Barbara Mertz
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I would not be at all surprised to find that it was for gold that Cain committed the first murder. (It happened a very long time ago, and Holy Writ, though no doubt divinely inspired, is a trifle careless about details. God is not a historian).
Barbara Mertz
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The opportunity to lecture had restored my good humor.
Barbara Mertz
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A lady cannot be blamed if a master criminal takes a fancy to her.
Barbara Mertz
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Superstition has its practical uses.
Barbara Mertz
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Reputations are shaped not by facts but by prejudices.
Barbara Mertz
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I have learned that particularly clever ideas do not always stand up under close scrutiny.
Barbara Mertz
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kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.
Barbara Mertz
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Now, Mama, Papa, and sir, said Ramses, please withdraw to the farthest corner and crouch down with your backs turned. It is as I feared we will never break through by this method. The walls are eight feet thick. Fortunately I brought along a little nitroglycerin-- Oh, good Gad, shrieked Inspector Cuff.
Barbara Mertz
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When one is striding bravely into the future one cannot watch one's footing.
Barbara Mertz
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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
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If you take a man by surprise, and behave with sufficient arrogance, he will generally do what you ask. -Emerson
Barbara Mertz
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It is easier to counterfeit old age than youth.
Barbara Mertz
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Cats always pick the laps of the people who don't like them.
Barbara Mertz
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Dogs can be made to feel guilty about anything, including the sins of their owners. Cats refuse to take the blame for anything - including their own sins.
Barbara Mertz
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Most men are reasonably useful in a crisis. The difficulty lies in convincing them that the situation has reached a critical point
Barbara Mertz
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The only way to do it is to do it: by writing, writing, writing.
Barbara Mertz
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Getting an idea for a book is not the problem, but you need 300 ideas - an idea a page.
Barbara Mertz