Stephen King reached out to me twenty-five years ago and taught me some valuable lessons. In return, I've tried to be generous with my time over the years with young writers. I've given them my email and said if you need someone to talk to, I've been through it.

The first thing my family did when we moved was join the local church. The second was to go to the library and get library cards.

I don't feel stupid, just inadequate. After three years of studying the law, I'm very much aware of how little I know.

When you work at street level you never know who's going to walk through your door.

Very few writers understand the complex history and maddening social order of the Mississippi Delta. For Steve Yarbrough, though, it's home turf. He is wickedly observant, funny, cynical, evocative, and he possesses a gift that cannot be taught: he can tell a story.

She was pondering the option of law school, the great American baby-sitter for directionless postgrads.

I've written 17 novels, and I've found out that fiction can't keep up with real life.