Quotes by Jonathan Dee

Jonathan Dee

A Thousand Pardons began at the beginning. I wanted it to be one continuous, almost breathless kind of story. In order to do that, it’s really hard not to begin at the beginning. There’s such a chain of consequence to everything that happens to main characters – it’s very hard to break it apart and still be able to hold the plot in your head.

Break

Character

Kind

Another big moment in terms of that feeling was David Petraeus: if the director of the CIA can’t get away with having a secret relationship, then what hope do you have? It’s not really an original idea, but there’s something that goes along with power and celebrity that starts to make you feel like you’re impervious to certain forces that the rest of us have to live with.

Feelings

Moments

Secret

I don’t want to make it sound too much like I’m telling people how to read the book A Thousand Pardons, but what Ben Armstead is doing, he’s doing more or less on purpose as a very elaborate way of making a sacrifice in his personal life. He needs to start over. This is how he chooses to do it – by blowing up where he is.

Book

People

Sacrifice

I hesitate to say yes – I had writer’s block, because I know there are people who’ve had really serious cases of it, and I’ve never been paralyzed like that, but I definitely get blocked sometimes. More than periods where I don’t write anything, I have periods where I just write junk and I know I’m writing junk but I can’t stop.

Block

People

Writing

I once saw John Updike get in front of a crowd and read a story that he’d written in 1958, and I just thought, I can’t even look at stuff I wrote a year ago, I can’t believe he’s doing this.

Believe

I personally feel I still have so much to learn as a writer; each novel is better than the one before, just because I’m getting better at it.

Get Better

Novel

I seem to have a talent for writing endings that seem just right to me but that frustrate other people.

People

Talent

Writing

I worry that’s what people are going to think about me if they kind of go backwards. But if that didn’t happen to you, I’ll feel better.

Feel Better

People

Thinking

In high school, I had a teacher there who was really great to me and with whom I finally dared to admit I wanted to be a writer myself, and we did a project where I wrote terrible, 17-year-old fiction. But I remember a couple of the stories. I’d love it if I could read with pride something that I wrote that long ago, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Couple

School

Teacher

Kenneth Branagh. There was a time in my life when people would tell me constantly that I look like him. I could do a lot worse than that.

Kenneth

Looks

People

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Advice

Apologizing

Being Yourself

Believe

Block

Book

Break

Character

Children

Couple

Done

Feel Better

Feelings

Get Better

Giving

Husband

Junk

Kenneth

Kind

Looks

Lying

Moments

Moving

New York

Nice

Novel

People

Periods

Perspective

Retirement

Sacrifice

School

Secret

Subjectivity

Synthesis

Talent

Teacher

Thinking

Trying

Want

Wells

Writing

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Quotes by Jonathan Dee

Jonathan Dee

I once saw John Updike get in front of a crowd and read a story that he’d written in 1958, and I just thought, I can’t even look at stuff I wrote a year ago, I can’t believe he’s doing this.

I personally feel I still have so much to learn as a writer; each novel is better than the one before, just because I’m getting better at it.

I seem to have a talent for writing endings that seem just right to me but that frustrate other people.

I worry that’s what people are going to think about me if they kind of go backwards. But if that didn’t happen to you, I’ll feel better.

Kenneth Branagh. There was a time in my life when people would tell me constantly that I look like him. I could do a lot worse than that.

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The Future Blueprint

The Home Therapist: Anti Anxiety

The Autobiography

The Behaviour Diary

The Dating Diary

The Relationship Therapist

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