Eloise LaGrone and I were sitting on the ground near a beach, talking about what I was going to be doing in the future. I finally blurted out that I had saved $200,000. Actually I thought to myself that I only had about $110,000, and the rest was still owed to me by my clients. But the fact was, I had enough money to stop working and start writing on a full time basis. I tried to explain to her why I was hesitating to do so immediately.

I heard a noise from some tall grass near us and I realized a man was lying there listening to us. I thought to myself that I didn't want anyone else to know how much money I had, and that it was dangerous to be talking while someone was listening like that.