DavidBaldacci.com

"I started writing very early, in high school. I continued through college and while I pursued a law degree at the University of Virginia. During my years as an active attorney, I wrote in the late evening and anytime I had a spare moment. It was my private passion."

"I am always thinking about and seeking story ideas. As a writer, you can never 'turn off' your passion for the written word and love of a great story. So I watch life, listen intently, and basically drive everyone around me a bit crazy as I absorb every environment in which I find myself. And believe me, being naturally curious uncovers many possible storylines. Writers have to see the world exactly as it is, and then go a step further and realize the potential of what could be there."

"For me, doing my own research is essential to the writing process. Until I am in the midst of a chapter, paragraph, or even dialogue between characters, I never know what my research can bring to the story. Bottom line - if I cut corners on being less than thorough with the research, the story will suffer."

"There are 110 million copies of my books in print worldwide, translated into more than 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries."

"I have so many stories I want to tell and explore that I am not able to accept story ideas from others."

"I admire many of the traditional southern scribes: Flannery O'Connor, Lee Smith, Eudora Welty, Harper Lee, Walker Percy and Truman Capote. Since college I have been reading and re-reading works by Anne Tyler and John Irving. I've also been reading Graham Greene and Patricia Highsmith, and am a big fan of David McCullough. And I am never far from a well-read copy of Mark Twain."

"I enjoy getting out from behind the writer's solitary desk and talking with readers and fellow authors. My website will list the cities where I will be signing."