Authors Interviewing Characters: Lori B. Duff

DEVIL’S DEFENSE

A gripping courtroom drama that explores the struggle between morality vs. professional obligation, Devil’s Defense will appeal to fans of female-lead courtroom dramas like The Good Wife.

Jessica Fischer wants nothing more than to build her law practice in small-town Ashton, Georgia. She’s well on her way when the local town hero, football coach Frank “Tripp” Wishingham III, hires her to represent him in a paternity suit. Coach is everything Jessica despises—arrogant, sexist, entitled—but it’s her job to make him look good in public. This is made doubly difficult when her burgeoning relationship with a local reporter gets in the way of telling the truth.

Are things as black and white as Jessica thinks? And can she find a way to succeed without compromising her own personal values—or her personal life?

Author Lori B. Duff interviews Jessica Fischer:

LBD: Well, Jessica, I’ll bet you never thought your life would be the subject of a bestselling book.

JF: (laughs) No kidding! It’s just my life. It’s barely interesting to me, I can’t believe anyone else would care about what I do all day.

LBD: Come now. There are so many movies and television shows and other books about lawyers, why not you?

JF: Why not me? Why me? In all those books and whatnot, the lawyer is high-powered, rich, and ambitious, and usually ridiculously good looking.  I’m just a normal person trying to make enough money to cover my bills. I live in Ashton, Georgia, a town just big enough to have its own Kroger, and the people that walk through my door just have ordinary problems. Divorce, money troubles, stupid decisions that got them in trouble. That kind of thing. There aren’t any twisty mysteries to solve or glamorous situations.  

LBD: Yeah, but isn’t that it? I mean, not to appropriate anything culturally, but isn’t that what “representation matters” stands for? Very few of us are—what did you say?—high-powered, rich, and ambitious. Don’t you think people want to see themselves and be able to relate to the characters in the books they read?

JF: Hmmm. That’s a good point. I don’t know that I am ‘everywoman’, or that anyone is. But probably everyone can relate to having to deal with people at work that frustrate the hell out of you, or dealing with clients or co-workers that don’t behave or listen to you when they should. It was kind of embarrassing going back and reading the book after it was written. Cuz it gets into my head, ya know? And I didn’t realize how often I had such violent fantasies until I read about all the times I wanted to beat someone into submission. Lord, good thing I have self-constraint or I’d need a lawyer myself. 

LBD: Hahaha. I think we all do. That’s what separates us from the animals, right? Self-control?

JF: (Laughs.)

LBD: Tell me about Coach. Even in the PR materials from the book, it’s made clear that you can’t stand him. A lot of people have asked how you can think such bad things about him but still have some weird affection for him in the end. 

JF: Spoiler alert! Ha ha. No, seriously, I mean, Coach is an asshole—oh, crap. Is he going to read this? Can I cuss? Well, anyway, I think I’d say that to his face. He’s an asshole but he’s not an idiot. That’s an important distinction. I think Coach has a lot to demonstrate about what privilege is and how it can be harmful. After spending so much time with him behind closed doors and talking about some of those most intimate moments of his life, I think I know him better than most people do. Whether or not I would have chosen to know him that well is a different question, but here we are. Anyway, Coach is this good-looking, talented athlete. The kind of guy who you can tell is popular when he walks into a room. Have you ever seen the movie Heathers from the 80’s?

LBD: Oh yeah! One of my favorites.

JF: Yeah, well, for anyone who hasn’t seen it, it’s about these mean girls all named Heather who are very popular. My favorite quote from that movie is when one person asks this other popular-but-not-Heather person why she considers these mean girls friends. She says, “It’s like my job is being popular and these are just people I work with.” That’s how I feel about Coach. I don’t necessarily like him, but my job is being popular enough to make people want to hire me, and he’s someone I work with in order to make that happen.

LBD: So you’re just using him?

JF: Gaah. That sounds bad, doesn’t it? I mean, I guess I was at first, but he kind of grew on me. He’s truly, authentically himself, and in a world full of BS that can be refreshing. And, if you get to know him, he’s really more thoughtful than he appears. Than he wants to appear, I think.

LBD: Interesting. So what’s next for you?

JF: Well, I can’t get too much into it, attorney-client privilege, you understand, but I have a case I’m working on now involving domestic violence.  

LBD: Oh, how awful! I hope you’re representing the victim, not the perpetrator.

JF: I am, but it’s complicated. Nothing is as simple as it seems at first.

LBD: Can you tell me more about it?

JF: (Laughs.) Not now, but I hear they’re writing another book about me, so you can read about it in the Fall of 2025.

LBD: I can’t wait!

BUY CIVIL DEFENSE HERE

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Lori B. Duff is a lawyer, municipal court judge, and award-winning writer. An empty-nester, she lives in Loganville, Georgia, with her husband and rescue puppy.

Tags: featured, womeen writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing