I love and always have loved policy issues and trying to have an impact on the issues that are out there. I cherish my years in government. I have loved my participation at CNN at Current writing teaching. Where I will go next I will have to sort out.

The fact that books today are mostly a string of words makes it easier to forget the text. With the impact of the iPad and the future of the book being up for re-imagination I wonder whether we'll rediscover the importance of making texts richer visually.

I must analyze from what I do now what will be the impact two or three or five years in the future. What is the statement I want to make?

I'd like now and into the future to play a bigger role not only in Wisconsin and the Midwest but nationally. I'd like to have an impact.

Healthy children are born from healthy respected well-nourished and educated mothers and it is imperative that they have a voice in the decisions which affect them. If you empower a mother and let her have her say towards a poverty-free future the positive impact this would have on ending hunger will be immense.

Rather than waiting for future trials to determine rules that will impact every citizen Congress should step in and write a law that takes every American's rights into consideration.

What I'm concerned about is endless borrowing which is going to compromise our economy not only today but in the future. Because we know the decisions we make right now really dramatically impact us in the future and the debt is literally getting out of our control.

It's funny that I got to do 'On the Road' because the thing that had the biggest impact on me growing up was reading books. I was very inspired by the book and this spirit of Dean Moriarty and how envious we all are of somebody who can be that carefree.

I definitely wanted to earn my freedom. But the primary motivation wasn't making money but making an impact.

I have more freedom when I write fiction but my memoirs have had a much stronger impact on my readers. Somehow the 'message ' even if I am not even aware that there is one is conveyed better in this form.