It is up to us to change laws on the books like 'Stand Your Ground' laws and push elected officials to enact regulations that hold police officers to the same standards as the rest of society. This is why we vote.
Anyone who says, 'Books don't change anything,' or - more commonly - that crime fiction is the wrong genre for promoting social change - should take a closer look.
I'm very, very leery of nonfiction books where they change timeframes and use - what do they call those things? - composite characters. I don't think that's right.
I guess there is also an element of deliberate change involved. Each of my books has been, at least from my point of view, radically different from the last.
The only projects that excite me have to be tied to some aspect of social change. No matter how beautiful, a coffee book doesn't exactly move you to change the way you cook or eat.
Music is gathering. Taking our scattered thoughts and senses and coalescing us back into our core. Music is powerful. The first few chords can change us where no self-help books can.
I don't read reviews because by then it's too late - whatever anyone says, the book won't change. It is written.
I think the government should do everything they possibly can to, to bring this crisis to an end; and that means going after BP, enforcing the laws that are on the books, and restoring the gulf to its original condition.
I've been bragging for over 25 years that my first New York Times bestseller was a book I copied from the U.S. Government Printing Office!
Since 2001, I've done what every elected official should be doing in government right now. My staff and I took a look at the books, thought outside the box and proposed reforms.
I don't really go out that much, if I'm honest. I'm quite a recluse. If I had my way, I'd probably be at home most of the time with a book and a cup of tea or glass of wine.
At home, I have lot of pictures from 'The Walking Dead' and some stuff from comic books. At comic conventions, people will give me a lot of autographed stuff, so a lot of those are on my wall.
I've written a book; I've become a better husband and father because I'm home every day. My connection to the Hollywood world has only been through Facebook.
I fantasize about having a manual job where I can come home at night, read a book and not feel responsible for what will happen the next day.
My parents were wonderful people, but there were terrible rows between them, and at times I found the atmosphere at home unbearable. The Arthur Ransome books gave me an alternative childhood and the tools to escape.
Canada was for me very much Sweden, you know? Very much open people, that they read books, they go see films. I felt at home in Canada. And also, you speak French.
I was home schooled in high school but was definitely the nerd in middle school. I was in three academic clubs, a huge book worm, and the teacher's pet. I was kind of an easy target for bullies.
I obtained a job at the Library of Congress. I loved books, so I felt at home. I was going to end up, I thought, majoring in English and teach at the college level.
My maternal grandmother - she was a compulsive reader. She had only been through five grades of elementary school, but she was a member of the municipal library, and she brought home two or three books a week for me. They could be dime novels or Balz...
Many adults that I have met in my time believed that picture books are 'babyish'. I hope I have changed minds on this, as I set out to do.
I want to inspire through example. I hope my books motivate others to open doors and windows that will help them to embrace their own truth, light and joy.
