I write everything in Courier 12 because I write for publication, not pleasure.

- Andrew Vachss

Victimizers of children are the enemies of any so-called society.

- Andrew Vachss

Without question, I've either got to be a writer, or I fail.

- Andrew Vachss

I believe my publisher has shown a great deal of faith in me over a lot of years but I'm not prepared to be so arrogant to say that the long-term literary value of my work would compensate them for a financial failure.

- Andrew Vachss

I did criminal defense work part-time, and that paid the bills for representing abused and neglected children... and for defending in juvenile court those kids the 'child protective system' had missed when it had the chance.

- Andrew Vachss

A trial is not a search for truth. It is a contest and, often, one that produces no winners.

- Andrew Vachss

I didn't start out angry. I started out a young man wanting adventure.

- Andrew Vachss

I don't sign contracts for my books.

- Andrew Vachss

I don't take advances for my books.

- Andrew Vachss

The third person narrator, instead of being omniscient, is like a constantly running surveillance tape.

- Andrew Vachss

If I ever stopped being angry, I couldn't write anymore. How could I?

- Andrew Vachss

My life is triage.

- Andrew Vachss

My stuff isn't for everyone.

- Andrew Vachss

No politician is threatened by the child protective constituency, because it does not exist.

- Andrew Vachss

Ours is a country where anything can be accomplished if enough people get angry... because, in America, we act on our collective anger.

- Andrew Vachss

While early childhood experiences may impel, they do not compel. In the end, evil is a matter of choice.

- Andrew Vachss

Anyone who says, 'Books don't change anything,' or - more commonly - that crime fiction is the wrong genre for promoting social change - should take a closer look.

- Andrew Vachss

I don't even use italics or boldface; that's clutter, not clarity. Fancy fonts are fine for blogs, just as calligraphy is fine for diaries. But when you're writing for anyone other than yourself, you want to get as universal as possible.

- Andrew Vachss

A kid in an abusive home has far fewer rights than any POW. There is no Geneva Convention for kids.

- Andrew Vachss

I don't understand people whose gratification is a BMW. You don't know what joy is until you see a kid who was tortured get adopted by a family.

- Andrew Vachss