Alex

“He'd heard that writers spent all day in their dressing gowns drinking champagne. This is, of course, absolutely true.”
― Terry Pratchett, Snuff

“She was about to write a polite refusal, when she remembered the day on which the fourth form had discovered her christened name to be Laetitia; a shame that Lucy had spent her life concealing, the fourth form had excelled themselves, and Lucy had been wondering whether her mother would mind very much about her suicide, and deciding that anyhow she had brought it on herself by giving her daughter such a high-falutin name. And then Henrietta had waded into the humourists, literally and metaphorically. Her blistering comment had withered humour at the root, so that the word Laetitia had never been heard again, and Lucy had gone home and enjoyed jam roly-poly instead of throwing herself in the river.”
― Josephine Tey, Miss Pym Disposes

“The Internal Revenue man frowned across the desk at Grofield, apparently trying to work out some sort of problem he was having. Finally he said, "If you lose so much money every year, how do you live?"
"God knows," Grofield said.
"How do you go on opening the theater every summer?"
"Stupidity," Grofield said.
The Internal Revenue man made an impatient gesture. "That isn't an answer," he said.
"Of course it is," Grofield said. "Almost always."
"You must have a source of income," the Internal Revenue man said.
"I couldn't agree more," Grofield said. "In fact, I'd say it's imperative.”
― Richard Stark, Butcher's Moon

“Which reminded her to wonder where Alan was nowadays; there had been several weeks, one spring, when she had thought quite seriously of accepting Alan, in spite of his Adam's apple. It would be nice, she had thought, to be cherished for a change. What had stopped her was the realisation that the cherishing would have to be mutual. That she would inevitably have to mend socks, for instance. She didn't like feet. Even Alan's.”
― Josephine Tey, Miss Pym Disposes