Wilbur Smith

“They do say that socialism is the ideal philosophy-just as long as you have capitalists to pay for it.”

“I've eaten lion, leopard, crocodile, python. I don't recommend lion. It tastes exactly like when a tomcat comes into your house and sprays. Snake and crocodile are great - a cross between lobster and chicken.”

“Real men read my books.”

“I have done everything I have ever wanted to do. I have swum with tiger sharks, been charged by lions and elephants. I have been shot three times, chased by crocodiles and, God be praised, I've made enough money that I can continue to do all the things I want to for as long as I am able.”

“Write for yourself, not for a perceived audience. If you do, you'll mostly fall flat on your face, because it's impossible to judge what people want. And you have to read. That's how you learn what is good writing and what is bad. Then the main thing is application. It's hard work.”

“For the past few years my fans have made it very clear that they would like to read my novels and revisit my family of characters faster than I can write them. For them, I am willing to make a change to my working methods so the stories in my head can reach the page more frequently.”

“I have never had too much trouble for creative ideas to spring up in my mind.”

“I work on my novels wherever I have a PC, and I have four or five places around the world where I do have a PC. These days you can just slip a little flash drive into your top pocket, fly for 12 hours, come to another place, plug it into a computer and you are away again.”

“My first novel was rejected by some of the most eminent publishers in the world. Starting again was a real wrench.”

“They say if you drink Zambezi water with your mother's milk, you are always a slave of Africa, and I am.”

“I shot my first lion at the age of 14 when a pride threatened my father's livestock while he was away on holiday.”

“You know that feeling when you finish a final exam and you think, 'I never want to do that again'? Well I have the same feeling when I finish a novel. Each time I say, 'I think I may retire now' and then after six months the ideas start to churn again. I could never stop.”

“I know it's politically incorrect but I enjoy things like the kick boxing and cock fighting.”

“There's nothing so aphrodisiacal for a woman as money and success.”

“I want to be seen as a good storyteller. I'm a manipulator as well.”

“My mama loved books; I became fascinated by the wonderful stories that came out of these things she held in her hand - and started to make them up myself.”

“At the age of 12 I won the school prize for Best English Essay. The prize was a copy of Somerset Maugham's 'Introduction To Modern English And American Literature.' To this day I keep it on the shelf between my collection of Forester's works and the little urn that contains my mother's ashes.”

“The first novel I wrote was a monster - clocking in at 180,000 words - but it died a death, a death it deserved. It was called 'The Gods First Make Mad.' It was a good title, but it was the only good thing about the book. I didn't let that put me off.”

“My father was my god. His approval was so valuable to me.”

“I am a closet birdwatcher. I can identify Southern African species, but it irks me I can barely tell a jay from a blackbird in the U.K.”