When Your Enemies Defy You,

I've Always Taken That As My Guiding Principle And The Rest Is Just Set Dressing. You Can Have Dragons In It, Or Aliens And Starships, Or A Western About A Gunslinger, Or Even Literary Fiction, And Ultimately You're Still Writing About The Human Heart In Conflict With Itself.

In A Room Sit Three Great Men, A King, A Priest, And A Rich Man With His Gold. Between Them Stands A Sellsword, A Little Man Of Common Birth And No Great Mind. Each Of The Great Ones Bids Him Slay The Other Two. ‘do It,’ Says The King, ‘for I Am Your Lawful Ruler.’ ‘do It,’ Says The Priest, ‘for I Command You In The Names Of The Gods.’ ‘do It,’ Says The Rich Man, ‘and All This Gold Shall Be Yours.’ So Tell Me—who Lives And Who Dies?

If? The Word Is When.

A Fair Bargain Leaves Both Sides Unhappy.

Tarly, When I Was A Lad Half Your Age, My Lady Mother Told Me That If I Stood About With My Mouth Open, A Weasel Was Like To Mistake It For His Lair And Run Down My Throat. If You Have Something To Say, Say It. Otherwise, Beware Of Weasels.