PM: I wanted to be a criminal defense lawyer from the time I was twelve, but I was always a voracious reader and I was in awe of writers, so I never imagined I could be one. In my last summer in law school I decided to write a novel because I could not imagine how anyone could fill 400 pages with ideas. My main love was law, but I managed to publish Heartstone in 1978 and The Last Innocent Man in 1981. Then I stopped for 12 years to concentrate on my practice, which had gotten very exciting. My first two books were not bestsellers when they first came out and there was no publicity for them, so I didn't know about book tours. In 1993 Gone, but Not Forgotten was published and it was a huge bestseller. At that time, I was handling mostly death penalty murder cases and federal drug conspiracy trials, which keep you in court several weeks to several months. The judges and DAs were very nice to me when I asked to set over my cases so I could go on tour, but I realized I could only go to that well once. By 1993 I had been practicing more than 20 years. I loved my work, but I had never had the chance to write full time. I decided to stop taking cases. In 1996 I became a full-time writer and retired from law. I was an active member of the Bar until 2006, but I didn't handle any cases after 1996.
AC: As the author of thirteen bestselling novels and several short stories, I imagine you’re very disciplined. What kind of writing schedule do you keep?
PM: I get to my law office every weekday around 7:30, write until 11:00, work out then get back to the office and write or work on non-writing projects until 4:00.
AC: Though you published your first novel in 1978, you didn’t start writing full-time until 1996. Do you have advice for other writers who are writing and working at the same time?
PM: I speak to a lot of students about writing and I always tell them to never think of writing as a profession because it is so hard to get published and, unless you write bestsellers, it doesn't generate enough money to feed and clothe yourself. But I also tell them that they should continue writing if they enjoy it. You can't be a writer and do brain surgery or try death penalty cases as a hobby, but you can be a bus driver, lawyer, or TV repairman and write as a hobby. So, find a good job and write as a hobby. If you get lucky and publish and make enough money writing to support yourself, you can make a choice about what you want to do.
Read more from the "How I Write" series.
