One thing you really have to watch as a writer is getting on a soapbox or pulpit about anything. You don't want to alienate readers.
Prisons are fascinating places, especially when the inmates are educated white-collar types.
I practiced law for 10 years, and I always admired the lawyers who were not afraid to take unpopular cases. And I never had the guts to do that. I was playing it safe. I was trying to make a living. And I just never volunteered for a really tough case, and there were some of them I should've taken. And I admired the lawyers who did.
In 1984, when I was a rookie member of the House, there was a bill introduced to make Martin Luther King's birthday a state holiday. It didn't have a chance. As time passed, though, more and more states adopted the holiday. Finally, after about five years, we passed it and, I think, almost unanimously. As I said, change is slow and hard.
I grew up in a very small, close-knit, Southern Baptist family, where everything was off-limits. So I couldn't wait to get to college and have some fun. And I did for the first two years. And I regret a lot of it, because my grades were in terrible shape. I never got in serious trouble, except for my grades.
I have learned not to read reviews. Period. And I hate reviewers. All of them, or at least all but two or three. Life is much simpler ignoring reviews and the nasty people who write them. Critics should find meaningful work.
