Scott Pratt

Scott Pratt's debut novel, the legal thriller An Innocent Client, has just been published. From his interview with Sandra Parshall for Poe's Deadly Daughters:

Q. Tell us about your first novel.

A. An Innocent Client is the story of Joe Dillard, a forty-year-old criminal defense attorney who is excellent at what he does, but has grown tired of the constant moral compromises he’s forced to make in the profession. On his fortieth birthday, he makes an off-hand wish for just one innocent client before he quits. Not long after that, he thinks he’s gotten his wish. A young girl is accused of stabbing a preacher to death in a motel. Dillard is hired to represent the girl, and he sincerely believes she’s innocent.

However, as the case unfolds, Dillard finds himself dealing with a dirty cop, a politically-astute district attorney, a drug-addled sister, a dying mother, a violent stalker, and a manipulative redhead who isn’t what she seems. Dillard is forced to make a series of gut-wrenching decisions along the way and ultimately is forced to confront his worst enemy – himself. I tried to keep the story suspenseful but fun, fast-moving but deeply evocative. There are several twists, a bunch of great characters, and what I think is a satisfying, plausible ending. Sounds like a bestseller, huh?

Q. I’ve heard that the legal thriller market isn’t easy to break into. What was your road to publication like? Easier than you expected or more difficult?

A. It was vastly more difficult than I expected. I knew going in that I could write, but I didn’t know how to structure a novel. I enlisted...[read on]

Read the complete Q & A.

Visit Scott Pratt's website.

--Marshal Zeringue