I’m in the throes of planning for upcoming travel while watching lava and possibly a hurricane (i.e. real-life dramas), and the conclusion of the second Sydney Brennan novel (not real-life, but so much more dramatic—I promise!), so I’m going to keep this Magpie Moments installment short and sweet. Like Sydney’s car. I’d left my car in the carport, but Cecil, a light blue Volkswagon Cabrio, didn’t take up much room. Back to Lazarus, Chapter 21 And later in the book… “Cecil shouldn’t give you any problems either.” “Cecil?” “Yes, my car’s name is Cecil, and he speaks with a cockney Read more…

Time for another Magpie Moments post, peeks behind the scenes where I’ve scavenged bits of real life for my fiction. Continuing with the theme of names, this time I thought I’d share the origins of one of Sydney’s nicknames. “If trouble starts, it’s usually because she brought it with her,” [Richard] said, pointing at me. “Little Miss Tempest in a Teapot.” Back to Lazarus, Chapter 39 My first job as a licensed attorney was for a Legal Aid office in Lafayette, LA. It was relatively small—just a few  each of attorneys, paralegals, secretaries and admin-type people—considering it provided services to Read more…

We’ve been exploring names lately on the weekly Magpie Moments Post, most recently that of my protagonist Sydney Brennan. Last week, we established that “Sydney” came from my childhood pen name. Congratulations to Lissa Weddington for deducing the origins of “Brennan” and winning a signed paperback of BTL! For lawyers that spend much time thinking about constitutional law, handicapping a Supreme Court case is a lot like handicapping a sporting event. Each justice has his or her strengths and weaknesses, pet issues and hot buttons.  There are some swing voters (though not so much lately) that can go either way, Read more…