Tony Earley is a noted novelist and short story writer, perhaps best known for a novel, Jim the Boy (2002), and for stories that have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, and Best American Short Stores. He teaches fiction workshops and seminars at Vanderbilt University. When I introduced myself to him and mentioned WORLD, he smiled and said, "My wife is not going to believe this. She is a subscriber. We have a mixed marriage. She is the conservative (laughter)."

As a writer, how do you approach the reading public? My books are written from a Christian standpoint, but I never want to end up in the Christian bookstore. If I do, I'll know my career is shot. Being too overt is not good for your career. The part of the establishment that publishes and reviews is the issue, not necessarily the reading public. My aim is to fly in under the radar.