A Good Killing (38 page)

Being a lawyer and a writer seem to be vastly different careers. In what ways has your life changed since you chose the latter?

My commute is fantastic! I can work in my pajamas if I want. And, it turns out, I don’t want to work in my pajamas. You feel really gross by 2:00. I treat writing as if it were a nine-to-five job. I get up, get dressed, and keep my butt in my chair, regardless of whether the muse is with me that day.

Being home all day also meant I could finally get a dog (I’d been debating my husband on this for years). We adopted a half-beagle puppy named Maggie. She’s sitting at my feet as I write this.

What books have you found to be particularly inspiring or significant?

As a lawyer:
To Kill a Mockingbird
, of course, and
Presumed Innocent
by Scott Turow. In non-fiction,
Guns, Germs, and Steel
by Jared Diamond fundamentally changed the way I look at the world.

In upcoming novels, do you plan to keep writing the Anna Curtis series or will you possibly introduce a new protagonist?

The interest in Anna has been a wonderful and unexpected. I never intended to write a series. But as long as readers want to hear more of her story, I’m thrilled to keep writing it. At the same time, I have some ideas for stand-alone books, and I hope to have the chance to make those happen, too.

Describe your writing room.

Funny you should ask. I wrote my first three books at my kitchen table. After I turned in
Speak of the Devil
, I decided I was a “real” writer who should have her own office. I converted a bedroom into an office: getting new furniture, painting the walls blue because I heard that color inspires creativity, and splurging on a standing desk and ergonomic chair. After all that, it turns out I can only write at . . . my kitchen table.

The topic of sex crimes is an especially somber one. What do you do to balance that—to relax or have fun?

I started writing because it was cheaper than therapy. Seriously, writing about the job did help me process the things I saw as a prosecutor.

I used to have more hobbies—running, playing guitar, and I was a docent at the National Zoo. These days, I’m a mom, and keeping up with my two crazy, terrific little boys is the most fun, wonderful part of my life. But between mommying and writing a book a year, I don’t have time for much else. After they boys are in bed, I read. I’ve always loved getting lost in a good story. Reading is the one thing I always find time for.

Enhance Your Book Club

1. Find out more about Allison online. On her website,
www.AllisonLeotta.com
, you can read about her other books, read her bio, and find out where she’ll be appearing at upcoming events. Fans of television crime dramas will appreciate her blog, Prime-Time Crime Review, where Allison takes programs such as
Law & Order: SVU
to task, revealing what aspects of the shows are realistic, and what are completely made up. In addition to her blog, you can also connect with Allison on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

2. Cooper is a staunch supporter of local and grassroots businesses in economically challenged Detroit. As a group, research locally owned businesses in your area. You can select a local cafe or restaurant as your group’s meeting place, choose regionally sourced foods to serve, or even visit a farmer’s market as a group.

3. The book focuses on a sexual crime committed on a young girl. Research crisis support centers in your area. If possible, consider volunteering time or other resources, or find out if you can help get the word out about the centers to local schools and youth groups.

Buy the complete book

For fans of Lisa Scottoline and Law and Order: SVU, former federal sex-crimes prosecutor Allison Leotta’s novel explores the intersection of sex and power as Anna Curtis investigates the murder of one of DC’s highest-paid escorts.

Discretion

As a newly minted Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., Anna Curtis has already developed thick skin to deal with the brutality she encounters with her daily stack of domestic violence cases. Yet when Laprea Johnson walks into Anna’s life—battered by her boyfriend on the morning after Valentine’s Day—there’s something about this particular case that Anna can’t quite shake, something that reminds the prosecutor of her own troubled past.

Law of Attraction

On the very night she gets engaged to the man she loves, sex-crimes prosecutor Anna Curtis’s professional life takes a shocking turn that threatens everything she holds dear.

Speak of the Devil

ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

© JOHNATHON MULLEN

A
llison Leotta was a federal sex-crimes prosecutor in Washington, DC, for twelve years. In 2011, she left the Justice Department to pursue writing full time. She is the acclaimed author of
Law of Attraction
,
Discretion
, and
Speak of the Devil
, and founder of the award-winning blog, The Prime-Time Crime Review. Leotta lives with her husband, Michael, and their two sons outside of Washington, DC. Visit her online at
AllisonLeotta.com
.

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

SimonandSchuster.com

authors.simonandschuster.com/Allison-Leotta

ALSO BY ALLISON LEOTTA

Law of Attraction

Discretion

Speak of the Devil

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 by Allison Leotta

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Touchstone hardcover edition May 2015

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