James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke
James Lee Burkeis an American author of mysteries, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won an Edgar Award for Black Cherry Bluesand an Edgar Award for Cimarron Rose, and has also been presented with the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. The Robicheaux character has been portrayed twice on screen, first by Alec Baldwinand then Tommy Lee Jones. Burke's 1982 novel, Two for Texas, was made into a 1998 TV Movie by the same...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
CountryUnited States of America
country war people
We decry violence all the time in this country, but look at our history. We were born in a violent revolution, and we've been in wars ever since. We're not a pacific people.
country men views
Hackberry Holland's greatest fear was his fellow man's propensity to act collectively, in militaristic lockstep, under the banner of God and country. Mobs did not rush across town to do good deeds, and in Hackberry's view, there was no more odious taint on any social or political endeavor than universal approval.
dream country volcanoes
Then the sun broke above the crest of the hills and the entire countryside looked soaked in blood, the arroyos deep in shadow, the cones of dead volcanoes stark and biscuit-colored against the sky. I could smell pinion trees, wet sage, woodsmoke, cattle in the pastures, and creek water that had melted from snow. I could smell the way the country probably was when it was only a dream in the mind of God.
believe drinking school
..why is it that in problematic situations almost everyone resorts to axioms and societal remedies that in actuality almost nobody believes in?...ask yourself, have you ever known anyone whose marriage was saved by a marriage counselor, whose drinking was cured by a psychiatrist, whose son was kept out of reform school by a social worker?
lying stealing theft
A lie is an act of theft. It steals peoples faith and makes them resent themselves
running home opportunity
Today, there are more opportunities for writers in terms of access to larger success, but it's more difficult to publish a literary novel in the lower ranges. In other words, you almost have to hit a home run. You can hit a triple, maybe, but nobody's interested in a single.
yellow car earth
How do you caution a fawn about a cigarette a motorist has just flipped from his car window into a patch of yellow grass, or tell a sparrow that winged creatures eventually plummet to earth?
writing rejection one-day
You do it a day at a time. You just put your rejection slips in a shoebox and tell yourself one day you're going to autograph them and sell them at auction.
sloth talent misuse
To misuse one's talent, to be cavalier about it, to set it aside because of fear or sloth is unpardonable.
believe choices soul
I believe the causes that create them [serial killers] are theological in nature, rather than societal. I believe they make a conscious choice to erase God's thumbprint from their souls.
writing two choices
You have two choices in life. You either die or do something with your time. You're going to be doing something - why not write?
clever loss age
Age is a clever thief. It takes a little from you each day, so you're not aware of your loss until it'd irreversible.
heart one-day quiet
One day you'll have a quiet heart.
trying umbilical-cord like-you
Why do I always feel like you're trying to staple my umbilical cord to the corner of your desk?