Come summer around here at Big Legal Brain HQ, most of the staff beg me to tell stories of my early days as a lawyer in small-town Minnesota. Apparently, my staff is starved for salacious details of a life well-lived. I generally give in and tell them a story or two, then turn them over to about a half-dozen romance novels that, I swear, were written verbatim from my history. With summer now in full swing, the BLB staff said I should share the five trashy lawyer romance novels that are obviously based on portions of my life, with descriptions courtesy of me, the publisher, or a genuinely engaged trashy romance fan.
The Defender (Cara Summers). A Harlequin Blaze novel from Cara Summers that is generally available only as an eBook. Cover illustration is a Photoshop version of myself from 1998. Publisher’s synopsis: Theo Angelis definitely puts the ‘hot’ in ‘hotshot lawyer.’ Or at least, that’s attorney Sadie Oliver’s opinion. Even a simple handshake has her weak in the knees. If only there was time to explore the barely contained chemistry simmering between them…. But there isn’t. Because Sadie desperately needs Theo’s help. Her brother lies in hospital facing a murder charge, and their sister is missing. And even Sadie herself is being followed by unsavory looking characters.
Practice Makes Perfect (Julie James). This one’s from Julie James, a former big firm lawyer. I swear I litigated an admiralty case against her in Nebraska, where she probably got her material from me. From the publisher: After eight years of grueling yet friendly competition, both Payton and J. D. anticipate partnership at their prestigious Chicago law firm. But after putting aside their personal animosities and working together to sign an important account, they realize each is vulnerable to, and attracted by, the other. Unfortunately, their boss then announces that only one partner will be named this year from the litigation department, and suddenly the competition is very real—and not at all friendly.
Delicious (Shelly Thomas). Though I question their description of me as of “questionable background,” this is from the smart, funny, and dead-on bloggers over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: Hot promising lawyer of questionable background gains social esteem, and proposes marriage to lovely woman of excellent connections. Hot lawyer has hot toddy in his past, a woman he cannot forget. Hot toddy woman is now a marvelously seductive chef who invokes epic drama with her chicken broth (we won’t speak of what she can do with chocolate or lemons) and hot lawyer finds himself inheriting house in which hot toddy chef is in residence. Turn up the burner and use a potholder, for God’s sake. You’ll burn yourself at the bathtub scenes if you’re not careful.
Beauty Queen (Julia London). Part two of a series known as the Lear sisters trilogy set in Texas, obviously a reference to my dating Jess Amundsen in the early 1970’s in rural Minnesota. From the publisher: Rebecca Lear is tired of everyone thinking her life is perfect. Even though she comes from one of Texas’ most wealthy families, is a former Miss Texas, and has a handsome husband and a young son, Rebecca’s carefully cultivated life is quickly unraveling. After her car dealer husband trades her in for a newer-model wife, Rebecca discovers just how hard it is to find a job when you have no marketable skills, no college education, and no self-confidence. When Senator Tom Masters asks her to work on his political campaign, Rebecca sees a chance to finally gain some experience. The only drawback is an arrogant and sexy lawyer, Matt Parrish, who has no intention of working with a former beauty queen and political novice and doesn’t mind telling her so.
Petticoat Lawyer (Kate Meriwether). I used to be known as Pike in my early years, so the reference is obvious. From the publisher: VULNERABLE…The mere thought stiffened her spine. Attorney Camille Clark had to be tough–her entire future depended on it. With her nerves of steel, she’d have to slice through Officer Pike Barrett’s damning courtroom testimony. But could she ruthlessly go for his jugular once she’d glimpsed the guarded tenderness in this man behind the badge? Something policeman Pike Barrett never wanted to feel again–so he kept his heart under lock and key. Yet Camille’s fragile gutsiness caught him off guard, made him probe for the softness beneath her steel.
