I've always been aware of having feelings that were pretty intense at times. I imagine most people have had that, or they wouldn't be human.
“I make no conscious effort to be tough, or hard-boiled, or grim, or any of the things I am usually called.”
“The great thing about using the past is that it gives you the most colossal freedom to invent. The research is necessary, of course, but no one writes a novel to dramatically illustrate what everybody already knows.”