A: That's the million dollar question, and I think that there are two parts to the answer. First, I never much liked being an attorney. I worked in criminal defense, and while the days in court were exciting, I had a huge slew of guilty clients looking for an easy out. My sensibilities just don't run that way. Second, I always wanted to be in the business of novel writing. Wanted it. Craved it. Being a full-time novelist is the only real professional ambition that has survived twenty-odd years of adulthood.

When the day came that I was tasked to defend my first child molester (guilty, I believed) I was two weeks into my first run of fatherhood … a young girl of just a few weeks. I found that I could not take the case. Instead, I decided to quit the law and pursue my one true dream. I gave myself a year to write a publishable novel, and finished THE KING OF LIES in eleven months and change. It took four years to get it published, and I never did go back to being a lawyer. The book eventually became a bestseller and was published in 26 languages in over 30 countries. I have never looked back.

Q: 2) I am amazed at how magnificently you capture the area I grew up in - thanks for that, by the way. Do you plan to stick to Rowan County and nearby locales? How deep is the hold this area has on you?

A: The area has a massive hold on me. I spent most of my childhood and a big part of my adulthood there. It's where I practiced law, had my first girlfriend, went through my parent's divorce. My oldest friends still live there, as do my parents and my wife's parents. Sadly, I've found that my most recent story, THE LAST CHILD, which is due out next May, required certain geography that just does not exist in Rowan County. So, I had to fictionalize the place. I named it Raven County and moved it bit down east. Readers will recognize a certain feel to the setting, but changing it has freed me up in ways that were necessary.

Q: 3) In both of your novels the relationships between siblings have been deep if troubled. Why has this been so central to your writing so far?

A: I find tremendous depth in family relationships. The readers can relate (after all, we all have families, whether good, bad or indifferent…) and the tensions can be made to hum. Family dysfunction, however, should never be more than a compelling backdrop for the action and complexities of character. That being said, I do suspect that family will always be a part of the books I write.

Q: 4) Ah those dysfunctional families so dear to Southern, indeed all, literature. Do you plan to continue to work in that tradition?

A: I don't plan to wallow in family dysfunction, but I will absolutely use it where appropriate to the story. I suspect that my own family has begun to wonder about me, but I have assured them that it is nothing personal.

Q: 5) What would you say have been the biggest lessons writing has taught you?

A: There are so many lessons! Never quit. Don't fear the unknown or the risk of putting oneself out there. Rewrite with a passion - it's what separates the pros from the amateurs. Critics will always find something to criticize … it's what they do. Treat the people that help you (publishers, editors, agents, booksellers, etc) with sincere respect, and never take yourself too seriously. At the end of the day, you're just a storyteller, no matter how many books you sell. And nothing, I mean nothing, beats being able to feed your family while following a passion. It's worth the heartache and risk to make it in the end.

Q: 6) Do you have any words of encouragement you would like to share with aspiring writers?

A: Absolutely. It took me three full novels to finally get published. That's pretty normal, so don't get discouraged by early failure. Every bestseller or writer that you admire was once uncertain and unpublished. Finally, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. The world is full of doubters and people made brittle or sharp by their own abandoned dreams. People like that will line up to take a shot at you. Just smile and go back to typing.

Interview Date: 2008
Profile and questions compiled by Mark Barringer