Fiction is sort of a way to set the record straight, and let people at least believe that justice can be achieved and the right outcomes can occur.

As a lawyer, as a private citizen, you see a lot of injustice. You see a lot of people who should have been punished and are not, and people who were punished wrongfully are not vindicated. Fiction is sort of a way to set the record straight, and let people at least believe that justice can be achieved and the right outcomes can occur.

Most people associate reading with laying on the beach. They don't see that it's crucial for a democracy!

But if I worried too much about publishers' expectations, I'd probably paralyze myself and not be able to write anything.

I feel like people want there to be this mystery between film and theater, but I just kind of went where I got jobs, you know?

What I wanted to do was use literature and different kinds of stories and poems as a springboard, tapping into the creativity of our teens - I wanted teenagers to come up with their own creative responses to literature - using books themselves as a starting point.

My creativity thrives with limitations.

I got into the business because I love writing. When it came down to finding my voice, which every writer has to take time to do, I think I realized I write black people very well. I write us in a very honest way, and I want to hear the way we really talk.