Scott Benkie, author of The Lawyer’s Angel, is a practicing trial lawyer of 35 years. He is a speaker for lawyers in litigation seminars and has written several pieces to assist lawyers in their cases. His book follows an attorney, the protagonist James Crosson, as he navigates the loss of his wife alongside his race against a deranged corporate tyrant. In this interview, we’ve asked Scott some questions about his book, and we also learn some advice and insights!
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is my first book, and I am halfway through the second book in the series.
What is your latest book?
The Lawyer’s Angel. Many of the characters share personality traits of people I know or knew. The Lawyer’s Angel took me over 10 years to write because of my law practice. I tried to write a book that would resonate with readers and give them a reason not to give up if they were facing their own trial of some sort.
What inspired this book?
I wanted to explore the theme of spiritual redemption and how our lives may be sculpted by divine intervention.
What was the most difficult scene to write?
For me, the most difficult part of writing a book is deciding what to cut. There can be a tendency to provide excess back story which does not move the story along. Multiple edits are required, and I’ve heard it said that you don’t write a book, you rewrite a book. It can be an infinite process, and you may never be satisfied.
I can’t say I’ve experienced writer’s block to the extent where I am totally stymied, however, decisions regarding cuts are the most difficult. I think today’s reader has less patience for lengthy literary works in keeping with the rapid advance of technology.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I read my book aloud to one critique partner reader. One local book club read it and provided feedback. Award-winning Crime writer Charles Salzberg (Canary in the Coal Mine) read and gave his feedback and positive recommendations. I think reading the book aloud to someone helps with edits. I also had my book professionally edited by Robbie Tucker in NYC, he has experience in the movie industry.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I work out a lot, read, play hoops and tennis.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Earnest Hemingway, J.R. Tolkein, William Faulkner, James Joyce.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a second book with the same protagonist attorney, James Crossen, and I am about one-third of the way through that book.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website really is a great tool. Social media is a great tool as well you can follow me on my different platforms. I do think getting out promoting your book and entering different contest and submitting interviews like this are also very powerful. It gets your book in front of new readers.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Do your research and due diligence. Use a professional editor and read your manuscript aloud. Write what you know and think about your writing like a movie; show the action, don’t just tell it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hemingway said what was necessary: to be a good writer was to sit before a typewriter and bleed. I paraphrased this but I think it’s true. You have to put into words, visceral emotion and action.
What are you reading now?
Michael Connelly, The Dark Hours.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have started a sequel with Crosson as the protagonist and with a continuation of some aspects of the first book.
What is your favorite book of all time?
The Old Man and the Sea, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
What do you want people to take away from reading this book?
Hopefully what I have written will give some readers hope in their own predicaments.
Author Websites and Profiles
Website
Amazon Profile
Barnes & Noble
Scott Allen Benkie’s Social Media Links
The Lawyer’s Angel
Attorney James Crosson is in the grips of despair, blaming himself for his wife’s death. A widow hires him to pursue a wrongful death case on behalf of her late husband who died in a seemingly ordinary car wreck. Crosson must confront his own tragic loss and gambling debts as he unravels the plot hatched by a deranged corporate tyrant who will stop at nothing to conceal the truth, take down the lawyer, and preserve his empire. With Vegas goons closing in and everything at stake, Crosson goes all in one last time with no realistic chance of winning the case or surviving the evil arrayed against him.
