Arthur Quiller-Couch the source of the popular writers' adage "murder your darlings". He is mentioned briefly in "The Well of Lost Plots" by Jasper Fforde as one of the few authors with a name beginning with the letter "Q". It is Quiller-Couch who originated the saying "kill your darlings": A collected edition of Q's fiction appeared as "Tales and Romances" (30 volumes, 1928–29). Arthur Quiller-Couch Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (; 21 November 186312 May 1944) was a Cornish writer who published using the pseudonym Q. Although a prolific novelist, he is remembered mainly for the monumental publication "The Oxford Book Of English
The Quiller Memorandum it, and finds that a bomb has been strapped underneath in case he should attempt this method of escape. Quiller detaches the bomb from underneath the car and sets it on the bonnet, the vibrations of which cause the bomb to inch forward towards the front, where it will inevitably fall and explode. He manages to escape the lock-up garage moments before the bomb slides off the car's bonnet and explodes. Oktober's men stationed around the hotel assume Quiller has been killed in the explosion and leave. Quiller goes to the SIS office and reports the location of Phoenix's HQ.