Self-starter

...Lloyd's paltry salary just wasn't going to be enough.  Any damned fool could see that.  He'd had to straighten his shoulders, stand up like a man, and go out and swindle some people.

---from Sandra Nichols Found Dead by George V. Higgins.

Comments

[Chris The Cop]

One of my favorite authors.

The dialogue in your fiction work is always strong. Was Higgins an influence?

There's a quote in his (I think) best book, "Outlaws" that I always go to when I'm worrying too much about life, liberty and the pursuit:

Gleason: "Y'know, there are moments when I really like this job."

"A few," Richards said. "They come along. Every now and then there's one of these little breaks in the clouds, sun comes peaking through, and tally ho, my lads, it's time to flog the steeds." He slapped Gleason on the left knee. "Don't, he said, "don't spend your life, every goddamned day of it, always thinking about how what you do today's going to make tomorrow better. Think about, at least sometimes, how today is pretty good."

[Lance]

Chris,

Great quote. Higgins is an old favorite and I wish more of his books were still in print. Funny thing about his influence on my writing. I consciously avoided reading his novels when I was first setting out because I was afraid I'd end up copying him. But I read a lot of Elmore Leonard and Robert B. Parker at the time, figuring thrillers and mysteries wouldn't tempt me so much. Then I found out that both Leonard and Parker consider Higgins big influences on their writing, so I guess I was getting influenced without knowing it. Of course, once I felt confident enough to start reading him he became a major influence.