I used to describe myself as a comic novelist, but my concerns seem to have darkened over the past few years.
A screenwriter heard me read from my novel 'The Wishbones' when it was still in progress and mentioned me to some producers in Hollywood. They called, and I told them I had a novel in my drawer about a high school election that goes haywire. They asked to take a look, and my life changed pretty dramatically as a result.
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.
I really wanted to be a musician, but it turned out I had no sense of time.
The lesson you have to learn as novelist is how to be collaborative, and how to say, "I don't get to dictate this."
