Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
TOP 100 LEGAL THRILLER AUTHOR
After a lifetime of writing poetry, books, nonfiction, and legal documents, it was author Ray Bradbury’s friendship and encouragement that finally inspired Dale E. Manolakas to pursue writing as a career. He taught her that the characters wrote the book–she didn’t. She was raised just outside Los Angeles by a surgeon father and a homemaker-author mother.
Dale E. Manolakas earned her B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles, and M.A., M.S., Ph.D. and J.D. degrees from the University of Southern California. She is a member of the California Bar, had the privilege of clerking for The Honorable Arthur L. Alarcón at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, was a litigator in two major Los Angeles law firms, and a senior appellate attorney at the California Court of Appeals, as well as an Administrative Law Judge.
I have now published four books. Two are mysteries and two are legal thrillers.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The Gun Trial. It is a very exciting legal thriller. In The Gun Trial the characters and story are fiction, but the kernel of inspiration came from the issues set forth in the California appellate case Jacoves v. United Merchandising Corp. (1992) 9 Cal. App.4th 88, 11 Cal. Rptr.2d 468.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I really think I am like most productive authors. I write every day and nonstop until I have accomplished my goal for the day. I would say that is not unusual, but necessary.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
William Shakespeare, Eugene O’Neil, Tennessee Williams, Ray Bradbury [a personal friend now deceased], Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Elmore Leonard, John Steinbeck, and too many others to mention.
What are you working on now?
A great new legal thriller called The Divorce Lawyer. The title says it all.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like Awesome Gang.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write hot. Edit cold. Rewrite twenty times. Study your market niche. Have something to say. Learn how to advertise and design your own covers and advertising pictures.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you want support, look in the mirror.
What are you reading now?
Scientific American and National Geographic. Every time I pick them up I have a new idea for a series.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More. Always more.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Edward Albee’s play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Author Websites and Profiles
Dale E. Manolakas Website
Dale E. Manolakas Amazon Profile
Dale E. Manolakas’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account