I count myself as one of millions of Americans whose life simply would not be the same without the libraries that supported my learning.

I tend to write in the mornings.

The prosecutor, who is supposed to carry the burden of proof, really is an author.

The first time I remember really being excited about a book was The Count of Monte Cristo.

As a defense lawyer, he refused to condemn his clients. Everyone else in the system-the cops, the prosecutors, the juries and judges-would take care of that; they didn't need his help.

The truth of the matter is that the people who succeed in the arts most often are the people who get up again after getting knocked down. Persistence is critical.

I have a hard time isolating what it is in myself that makes me so fascinated with the theme of identity, because I came from a normal upper middle-class family. And yet, as I look back at my books, the uses of power, issues of identity, they have - it's recurrent. It happens again and again.