The Novelist

Questions I had for John Grisham on Thursday after he spoke about The Innocent Man :

• Why did Mitch get away with cheating on his wife?
• What was the deal with The Brethren?
• Do you know Rachel Weisz?
• Did anyone at Doubleday read The Brethren before agreeing to publish it?
• Do they start writing the scripts after you finish the books, or before?
• Speaking of scripts, please defend Christmas with the Kranks. We'll wait.
• Are you aware of the existence of The Brethren, a nomadic cult also known as "The Garbage Eaters?" If so, was that your inspiration?
• I understand you've given this law school a lot of money. I've recently begun a similar practice, and before I continue I'm wondering if you've found it to be worthwhile.
• Did you know it's okay for authors to skip a year?
• Were you heavily medicated for the majority of 2000?
• No, seriously. You wrote a book about three judges who orchestrate a mail fraud extortion scheme from prison until they accidentally catch the secretly gay senator who happens to be running a rigged campaign for President under the guidance of a puppet-master director of the CIA who is concerned about a fringe element of the Russian military in which they all get away with it at the end and no one called you out on it?
• Have you had any substantial opposition on the new book from death penalty proponents?