Pat Conroy

From an interview with Pat Conroy, in the collection "Writing for Your Life":

"Asked why his books make such entertaining movies, Conroy says, 'I always figure it's because I'm incredibly shallow. I write a straight story line, and I guess that's what they need. The dialogue also seems to be servicable in a Hollywood way. But most important, I do the thing that Southerners naturally do--I tell stories. I always try to make sure there's a good story going on in my books.'"