McCarthy to Woolmer. ALS, 3 pages, April 8, 1989

“Sorry for the long hiatus in our correspondence…” Just received a batch of reviews [All the Pretty Horses]. “I was very distressed over Chatwin’s death. A talented and honest man and a decent human being – the perfect candidate, in other words for the fates to single out…I’ve lost another writer friend two weeks ago – Ed Abbey. I think he came across in his writing as some thing of a curmudgen [sic] but he was a kind and generous man – qualities, sad to say, not common to writers…” Refers to Woolmer’s comments about selling his manuscripts, “I get requests from institutions wanting me to send them my manuscripts. I sometimes wonder vaguely what they think I use for money. I’ve been a full time professional writer for 28 years and I’ve never received a royalty check. That, I’ll betcha, is a record…”