Too much mystery is merely an annoyance. Too much adventure is exhausting. And a little terror goes a long way.

Terror and pleasure are linked in us. We are a baldly miswired species, Martie. Terror delights us, both the experience of terror and the dealing out of it to others. We are healthier if we admit to this miswiring and do not struggle to be better than our natures allow.

...because wonder admits to the existence of mystery, and the recognition of mystery in the world allows the possibility of Truth.

Anyone who learns the true and hidden nature of the world will be terrified, Oddie, but there's a safe harbor past the terror.

The adventure of composition is a mystery. The muse has her ways, she hides from you, comes for you in the middle of the night, at midday, at dawn. You must believe wholeheartedly in this divine power. Its an elusive gift that can appear at any time, anywhere. Artists are in awe of it.

Every book has some real life in it. I was never pursued by an evil twin clone, but everything else in MR. MURDER was pretty much out of my own life.