To Shipbrokers, Coal Was Black Gold.

The Prime Function Of The Children's Book Writer Is To Write A Book That Is So Absorbing, Exciting, Funny, Fast And Beautiful That The Child Will Fall In Love With It. And That First Love Affair Between The Young Child And The Young Book Will Lead Hopefully To Other Loves For Other Books And When That Happens The Battle Is Probably Won. The Child Will Have Found A Crock Of Gold. He Will Also Have Gained Something That Will Help To Carry Him Most Marvelously Through The Tangles Of His Later Years. Roald Dahl

Of Course They're Real People. They're Oompa-loompas...imported Direct From Loompaland...and Oh What A Terrible Country It Is! Nothing But Thick Jungles Infested By The Most Dangerous Beasts In The World - Hornswogglers And Snozzwangers And Those Terrible Wicked Whangdoodles. A Whangdoodle Would Eat Ten Oompa-loompas For Breakfast And Come Galloping Back For A Second Helping.

Two Hours Of Writing Fiction Leaves This Writer Completely Drained. For Those Two Hours He Has Been In A Different Place With Totally Different People.

When Writing About Oneself, One Must Strive To Be Truthful. Truth Is More Important Than Modesty.

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