138 Quotes by Joe R. Lansdale

I've been writing since 1973. I've written nonfiction things of that nature, but I'm probably best known for crime fiction and, to some extent, horror fiction.

I'm glad I've had the comic work. I plan to do others, but I could lay it down if I had to choose. I hope I don't have to, though.

I think I built my reputation by not worrying about it.

I think the big thing is that Stephen King is just a phenomenon, and when he came along, for the first time horror was suddenly considered a very commercial genre. It had always been around, of course, but now, the books had the word 'horror' actually printed on their spines.

The Westerns have probably affected me more than any one thing, Western-related material. I love Westerns.

I don't plot, and I don't plan. I like to be surprised like the reader.

I lived below the poverty line when I was young and starting out as a writer. But my wife and I kept trying to do things better, as anyone with ambition does. But just because you're trying doesn't mean you're always going to succeed.

A lot of friends I went to school with were criminals.

I've always felt that if you pay your bills and can take care of yourself without too much stress, then it's a pretty damn good life.