"The next year he transferred to Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, and tried out to play baseball there." (Hosie, Sean) However, after only one semester at Delta State University he realized that he didn't have a future in baseball, so Grisham and his roommates transferred to Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi. His friends and he started out majoring in forestry at MSU, but Grisham quickly changed to economics. At first he didn't like Mississippi State, but soon after he became so interested in the class discussions there that he decided to get his grades back on track and earn a degree in accounting. "While studying at MSU, the author began keeping a journal, a practice that would later assist in his creative endeavors." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ John_Grisham) In 1977, Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University with a B.S. in accounting. .
After graduation, he then went to the University of Mississippi in Oxford to study tax law. Soon after enrolling, however, he changed his major to criminal law. In 1981, he graduated with a law degree from the University of Mississippi. That same year, he married his long-time girlfriend, Renee Jones.
After law school, "he established a law practice in Southaven, where he practiced both criminal and civil law." (http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/grisham_john/) In 1983, Grisham was elected into the Mississippi House of Representatives and served as a state representative for two terms. "By his second term he held the vice chairmanship of the Apportionment and Elections Committee, as well as memberships on the Insurance, Judiciary A, and Military Affairs Committee." (John Grisham, Best-Selling Author, Biography) .
John Grisham's writing career was inspired by the testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim that he overheard at the Dessoto County Courthouse. This inspiration sparked a novel that explored "what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants.