Writing and Authors and Lawyers, Oh My!

Una Tiers is my guest this week. Her debut novel, Judge vs. Nuts, will be released soon by Echelon Press.

Una Tiers has written a story about a lawyer in Chicago, a goldfish and a dead judge.  The protagonist, Fiona Gavelle, blithely plods along in her first probate case until she learns that her client may have been murdered.  Her efforts set out to prove that his death was accidental.  While she learns about the practice of law, she will introduce you to her mostly lawyer friends, her favorite aunt and only reveal a glimpse of her personal life, which is in shambles. 

Judge vs. Nuts is a hilariously funny take on judges, but also a scathing indictment of judicial politics.  Lawyer Fiona Gavelle narrates with a wonderful, self-deprecating wit, as she goes about unraveling the murder of a Cook County judge. 
   --Barbara D'Amato, author of Other Eyes.

In Una's words . . .   By day I’m a lawyer and at night I fight crime.  Despite the seeming differences, both of my roles rely on writing and editing.  Whether it’s a court pleading, opening statement, a letter, will or loophole, I write for accuracy and one meaning only.  When the sun sets, I look for double meanings, humor, chilling sentences and plot twists.

My bottom line is that I teach people about their rights and options. 

My mystery writing didn’t start out as a surreptitious teaching tool; it started with a need to reduce stress after a particularly awful day in court.  From time to time I added a victim and did more editing than writing.  It is really fun.

After meeting a slew of mystery writers, I noticed that I was introduced to the day to day life of a librarian, a food critic, a minister’s family, a several detectives and more. 

Given the opportunity, I invite you to meet one attorney on a day to day basis.  We’ll untangle a murder along the way and slip in a great deal of information about the legal system.  Thank you to my sight unseen writing buddy, Ellis Vidler, for inviting me to her magnificent blog.

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About Una

Una Tiers (pen name) is an attorney in Chicago, Illinois.  She writes daily, wills, trusts, court documents and of course, threatening letters.  For years, her creative writing was on hold.  After one nasty day in court, she wrote a short story, murdering the bane of her existence.  It made her laugh and happy. Periodically chapters were added to the story and she laughed some more.  After meeting some amazing authors, Una came to regard fiction writing as a way to teach about the law.   The result is Judge vs. Nuts.   Available at Amazon.com in early 2012. 

 For more information, visit her website:  http://www.unatiers.com/
Connect with her on Facebook  and Linkedin.