Authors want their names down in history; I want to keep the smoke coming out of the chimney.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

Hemingway hated me. I sold 200 million books, and he didn't. Of course most of mine sold for 25 cents, but still... you look at all this stuff with a grain of salt.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

I dont like any of them, because they don't read the books. In Kiss Me Deadly my story is better than his story. Anthony Quinn played in The Lond Wait and he didn't read the book either.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

I know an awful lot of Hollywood people, who are so self-important, I can't understand it.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

I read all the time... I read a lot of history books.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

I started off at the high level, in the slick magazines, but they didn't use my name, they used house names. Anyway, then I went downhill to the pulps, then downhill further to the comics.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

I wrote the original Mike Hammer as a comic, Mike Danger.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

I'm 82 years old, wherever I go everybody knows me, but here's why... I'm a merchandiser, I'm not just a writer, I stay in every avenue you can think of.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

I'm a country boy. I hate New York. But that's where things happen, so I use it as a base for stories, I know enough about it. But I have to keep going back there.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

If I need something, I'll invent it.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

If the public likes you, you're good. Shakespeare was a common, down-to-earth writer in his day.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

Imagine this guy hits Mike Hammer over the head with a wooden coathanger and knocks him out. You hit Mike Hammer over the head with a wooden coathanger, he'll beat the crap out of you.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

My father was Catholic, my mother was Protestant, and because of that I got Christened in both churches, so I've got all these names... but my Dad always called me Mick.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it's a letdown, they won't buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

See, heroes never die. John Wayne isn't dead, Elvis isn't dead. Otherwise you don't have a hero. You can't kill a hero. That's why I never let him get older.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

Stephen King. Now I'm not crazy about him, but he's a great a writer.
- Mickey Spillane Quote

Victor Saville was bad news because he wanted money just to do one big picture.
- Mickey Spillane Quote