Reyna Marder Genten had nearly 20 years in the public defender's office as an appellate attorney, before she decided to trade in her legal robes for a keyboard and launched herself into a second career as a writer of legal thrillers and women's fiction.

 Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler. And today Reyna talks about her latest book, Both Are True. presenting the inside story of a woman at the height of her career as a family court judge, who's faced with temptation when career and personal life collide. 

Our free giveaway this week is from historical mystery author, Michelle Cox, a Cinderella story, and a 1920s Chicago take on Downton Abbey.

If you loved Downton Abbey and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, you'll love Henrietta and Inspector Howard!  Set in Chicago in the 1930's, this fun romantic mystery series has won over 60 international awards!  

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Links to information in this episode:

Joyce Carol Oates: We Were The Mulvaneys: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5204.We_Were_the_Mulvaneys

Patti Smith Memoir: Just Kids: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/341879.Just_Kids

Chuck Greaves, another lawyer turned author at: https://thejoysofbingereading.com/chuck-greaves-eco-thriller-la-law/

Where to Find Reyna Marder Gentin:

Website: reynamardergentin.comFacebook: @reynamardergentin 

Twitter: @reynagentin

Instagram: @reynamardergentin

Introducing women's fiction author Reyna Marder Gentin

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to the show notes in The Joys of Binge Reading.com for important mentions.But now, here’s Reyna.

Jenny Wheeler: Hello there Reyna, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Reyna Marder Gentin: Thank you so much for inviting me.

Jenny Wheeler: You are a former criminal attorney with the Public Defender's office who has turned into a crime writer. What made you decide to get into fiction, and how did it come about?

Reyna Marder Gentin: I always felt like there were stories lurking behind the cases I had. As an appellate attorney, you're stuck with a closed record. I knew what had happened right before the crime and at the time of the crime and maybe a little bit afterwards, but I never got to see the backstory. I never really understood who these people were because I didn't have a chance to meet with them.

We didn't meet our clients. We would exchange letters, but very much pertaining to the case. Those questions you have that might explain why a person does what they do, what their family was like, what their education was like, what their love life was like, all of those things were off limits. When I did end up leaving the job – and I was there for almost 18 years – I felt like I had put in my dues, but I had had enough. I felt like I was hitting up against a wall on the storytelling. I couldn't bring myself honestly anymore to try to tell the story of these people when I knew so little.

Understanding 'the story behind the story'

That was the impetus when I left – trying to figure out what else could I do with my time that might be related but would allow me to explore things about the defendants, about the judges, about the prosecutors, about the defense attorneys, things I couldn't do in real life, but I would be able to do in fiction.

That is the genesis of how it started to happen. The actual way it happened was that I quit my job. I had no idea what I was going to do next, and a friend told me she was taking a writing class and invited me to come along. I went with her, and it all sprang from there.