Safe from the Neighbors is a novel of unusual richness and depth, one that's as wise about the small shocks within a marriage as it is about the troubled history of Mississippi. Steve Yarbrough is a formidably talented novelist, shuttling between the past and present with a grace that feels effortless.
Tom PerrottaWhen I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American evangelical culture.
Tom PerrottaWhen things don't go well, it helps to think of yourself as a genius and the rest of the world as a bunch of idiots.
Tom PerrottaThe lesson you have to learn as novelist is how to be collaborative, and how to say, "I don't get to dictate this."
Tom PerrottaI think I was always writing books that had very clear scenic structures. I do tend to write in scenes. I do tend to have a fair amount of dialogue. And I do tend to use stories that don't sprawl all over the place, that have a very sharp focus in terms of how they unfold in time.
Tom Perrotta