“Duff scores with a winning protagonist and a captivating courtroom procedural.” —Kirkus Reviews

Name (s): Lori B. Duff

Genre(s): humor/magical realism/legal thrillers

What drew you to the genre you write? I’ve been a lawyer for over thirty years now. About fifteen years ago, the daily drama of going to war every day was weighing on my psyche, so I started writing humor to counterbalance my karma. The more I did it, the more fun it was, and the more successful I got. After a while, I got curious to see what else I could do. Since ‘write what you know’ is heard often enough to be a cliché, I started writing about lawyers. The magical realism kind of came out of nowhere. A friend who had read my writing sent me an article about a someone who had won an abandoned storage bin in an auction and found someone’s ashes in it. She thought it would be a good premise for a story. But when I started writing it, there were no lawyers, and the world became somewhat other-worldly.  I felt nervous putting the ‘magic’ in it, like can I do this?  But I think it went well, and the resulting novella, Broken Things, won the Georgia Independent Author of the Year Award for Literary Fiction.

What sets your book apart from what is out there? Devil’s Defense is, I think, like what would happen if a John Grisham book was written by Emily Henry. There aren’t a whole lot of women writing in this genre from a place of experience, and not a whole lot of people of any gender writing in this genre who have a sense of humor. Having lived it, I know that lawyers have huge lives that aren’t all lived in a courtroom, and I tried to bring that realism into it.

Do you write a series or standalones? Why? Broken Things is a standalone because the story ended. The characters in it didn’t have more to say. Devil’s Defense is the first in the Fischer-at-Law series. When I first started writing it, I meant it as a standalone. In fact, the first draft was a short story of maybe 5,000 words. (The novel is closer to 98,000.)  But I kept thinking, “These people have more to say.” So I expanded the short story into a novel, and when I was done with that, I thought, “Nope. Not done yet.” In my mind, Jessica, Diane, Coach, and Bobby are all real people and it seemed sad to me to tell them they had to shut up after only one book.

What are you currently writing? Right now I am neck deep in the final edits of the sequel to Devil’s Defense, which will probably be called Devil’s Hand, though we’re still debating about the title.  It’s slated for release in October 2025.

What are you reading right now? In keeping with the season, I’m currently reading The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror, edited by Tori Bovalino. I’m also listening to My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan on audiobook. 

Do you have a favorite quote or life motto? As unoriginal as it may be, I hear my dad’s voice in my head a lot saying, “This, too, shall pass.’  It’s great advice—whatever you’re dealing with, it’s fleeting. Bad things won’t last forever, no matter how yucky they feel while you’re in the middle of them. And good things won’t either, so you should savor every second of them.

Favorite writing space? When my son left for college (and now grad school) I took over his room. I get my best writing done at the desk in what will forever be known as his room.

Favorite deadline snack?  Dot’s Pretzels, Homestyle Original Seasoning

Readers: Sherry here — I love the idea of a John Grisham/Emily Henry mashup! What do you think? Is there another writer mashup you’d like to see?

About the Book: 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?

About the Author: Lori B. Duff is a lawyer, judge, and award-winning writer.  She’s a past-president of the Georgia Council for Municipal Court Judges [CMuCJ] and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists [NSNC].  A two-time winner of the Georgia Bar Journal’s annual fiction competition, she has also won the Foreword Indies Gold Medal for Humor, the NSNC’s annual column contest, and the CMuCJ’s President’s Award as well as the Glen Ashman Educational Achievement Award.  Her novella, Broken Things, won the Georgia Independent Author of the Year Award for Literary Fiction.  

When she’s not busy being in charge of things and winning awards, she’s either at home in her empty nest with her husband, Mike, and rescue dog, Lincoln, or working on a new writing project.  Her latest project is a novel, the first in the Fischer-at-Law series, called Devil’s Defense, which will be released on November 12, 2024 by She Writes Press and is available anywhere you buy books.