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Murder For Fun and Profit: An Interview with Taffy Cannon

NORTH COUNTY LAWYER:  Your most recent book is called Open Season on Lawyers.  Isn't that a little hostile?

TAFFY CANNON:  Not really.  In Open Season on Lawyers somebody is killing the sleazy attorneys of Los Angeles.  For the most part these are ethically challenged folks who are killed in ways that fit their transgressions. For instance, the lawyer who won a large judgment against a fast food joint whose coffee was too hot turns up par-boiled in his hot tub. 

Some victims are more guilty than others, of course. Indeed, the toughest decision I had to make in writing this book was how to limit the number of victims.  The book could have been twice as long.

NCL: How did you happen to write this book?

TC:  I used to write a mystery series with a State Bar attorney-investigator as the protagonist.  At a signing for one of those books, a woman came up and told me that she was a lawyer and she was sick of all this lawyer bashing.  That got me thinking about what might happen if you took lawyer bashing just a little bit farther.

NCL:  And what response have you gotten from attorneys?

TC:  For the most part very positive.  A woman who works in the State Bar Trial Counsel's office in LA loved it.  She told me that as she read, she was putting the faces of people she'd prosecuted on my characters.

NCL:  Were these characters taken from real life?

TC:  Not at all.  As I was working on this book and that earlier series, I used to read the discipline reports in California Lawyer.  They made pretty depressing reading, but none of them ended up in Open Season on Lawyers.

NCL:  What about that other series with the State Bar attorney?

TC:  The Nan Robinson books were my first published mysteries.  The second book in that series, Tangled Roots, is set in North County and uses a lot of local settings, including the old Vista courthouse.  Although it was written ten years ago, many of the issues raised in that book remain unresolved: migrant labor, nurseries being squeezed out by real estate development.

NCL:  Why do you write mysteries?

TC:  Because you get to kill people without facing legal consequences. Or the State Bar.

NCL:  What does happen when a complaint comes in to the State Bar?

TC:  Most of the time, nothing serious.  Poor communication is the main problem that complainants have, and there's nothing like an inquiry from the State Bar to facilitate better communication.  If there's evidence of serious wrongdoing, a file is open and investigation begins.  The most serious offenders are disciplined, usually after a trial.  Some lawyers facing disbarment choose to resign, as Richard Nixon did.

NCL:  What advice do you have for lawyers who want to be the next John Grisham?

TC:  Don't quit your day job.  Because legal practice requires a fair amount of writing, many lawyers believe that they could write bestselling legal thrillers if they just had a little more time.  Personally I think the term "legal thriller" is an oxymoron, and being able to write a killer brief doesn't necessarily mean that you can write a great book.

NCL:  What are the qualities that make a good novelist?

TC:  Many are the same as those that make a good lawyer.  You need the ability to tell a story, an understanding of human nature, knowledge of motives and personalities, the discipline to meet deadlines and a willingness to write and rewrite.  You also need to be able to handle rejection.

Writing fiction is harder than people think, and becoming a bestselling author is nearly impossible.  Luck has as much to do with writing success as talent.  Maybe more.

NCL:  Given all that, what should an aspiring Scott Turow do?

TC:  Turow actually illustrates my earlier point.  He writes his books on the commuter train going to and from Chicago to his law firm.  His books have made a gazillion dollars and he still hasn't quit his day job.

The first thing an aspiring writer should do is read everything you can get your hands on in the field you want to enter.  In this case that would mean Grisham, Turow, Lisa Scottoline, Steve Martini, Richard North Patterson, and a host of others.  Analyze what works in these books and what doesn't work. Create a compelling character that you'll be happy to spend a lot of time with.  Then outline the book you plan to write. Thinking through plot and characters in advance can help you avoid problems down the road.

Consider joining or forming a critique group.  If you get too close to your manuscript, you may miss problems that an impartial reader or readers will catch.

Be prepared to do a lot of rewriting.  When you think you're finished, lock the manuscript in a drawer for at least a month.  Then read it from page 1 as if you were facing it for the first time.  And rewrite it again.

When you think it's ready to go, have it professionally edited before you try to find an agent or publisher.  And as you set out on the agent hunt, be prepared for plenty of rejections and for a lot of time to pass.  While you're waiting, get started on the next book.

NCL:  How many books have you written?

TC:  My tenth novel will be published in May 2003. I've written several others that haven't been published.  Most published writers have some unpublished books in the bottom drawer.  Jonathan Kellerman wrote thirteen novels before he sold one.

NCL:  Where do you get your ideas?

TC:  I order them from the Sharper Image catalogue.

 

All content © 2005-11 by Taffy Cannon.