I can't change overnight into a serious literary author. You can't compare apples to oranges. William Faulkner was a great literary genius. I am not.

In life, finding a voice is speaking and living the truth. Each of you is an original. Each of you has a distinctive voice. When you find it, your story will be told. You will be heard.

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.

You live your life today, Not tommorow, and certainly not yesterday.

Prisons are fascinating places, especially when the inmates are educated white-collar types.

Jesus preached more and taught more about helping the poor and the sick and the hungry than he did about heaven and hell. Shouldn't that tell us something?

When witnesses concoct lies, they often miss the obvious.

If you're gonna be stupid you gotta be tough.

When you work at street level you never know who's going to walk through your door.

Shame was an emotion he had abandoned years earlier. Addicts know no shame. You disgrace yourself so many times you become immune to it.

judge not that ye be not judged

I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.

If love would die along with death, this life wouldn't be so hard.

I began as a true beginner, not knowing how to dance or perform. I just entered a local contest in town as a joke, because if you entered you got a free blouse and scarf.

You never really learn much from hearing yourself talk.

It's in the films and songs and all your magazines. It's everywhere that you may go, the devil's radio.

The most important piece of equipment in your bag is your attitude

When thoughts tell you it’s too late, dismiss them. You haven’t dreamed your best dream. You haven’t run your best race.

All your life you compare and contrast, explore and search. But knowing yourself well is, well, elusive.

Rich people do not back away from problems, do not avoid problems, and do not complain about problems. Rich people are financial warriors.

The debates are part of the unconscionable fraud that our political campaigns have become a format that defies meaningful discourse. They should be charged with sabotaging the electoral process.