Reading is by far the most successful pursuit of happiness.

Writing's still the most difficult job I've ever had - but it's worth it.

I seriously doubt I would ever have written the first story had I not been a lawyer. I never dreamed of being a writer. I wrote only after witnessing a trial.

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.

Nobody wants to read about the honest lawyer down the street who does real estate loans and wills. If you want to sell books, you have to write about the interesting lawyers - the guys who steal all the money and take off. That's the fun stuff.

I earned my first steady paycheck watering rose bushes at a nursery for a dollar an hour.

He's my client, and he's counting on me. I'll take him, warts and all.