Southern Summer Reading: Dollar Signs by Manning Wolf (Giveaway)

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this post and giveaway, free of charge,from JKS Communications,for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about them, all opinions are my own.

Today I have a new book, that is PERFECT for Summer Vacation reading,

while laying on the beach while the kids ~~try to kill each other~~ swim and play!

Synopsis:

Merit Bridges, an attorney and widowed mother in Austin, Texas, works hard, drinks too much wine, and sleeps with younger men. When Merit goes after a shady corporation threatening her client, she encounters hired gun Boots King. His charge is simple, “Stop her!” Merit and her team – including Betty, a mothering office manager with a bad-ass attitude – struggle to stay alive, while they navigate a labyrinth of legal issues, and prove once again that you don’t mess with a Texas lady lawyer.

Dollar Signs" is the first installment in a new female-driven legal thriller/suspense series, and while Manning's stories are fiction, they are largely inspired by her work as an attorney in Texas. She describes her book as a cross between John Grisham and Janet Evanovich with a salting of Candace Bushnell.

Before we get to the giveaway, how about talking with the author, Manning Wolfe

(doesn't she have the coolest name???)

Q&A with Manning Wolfe

Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?

One would think I write legal thrillers because I am an attorney, but it may be the other way around. I became an attorney because of the stories in my head and my ideas about fairness and equality. Those concepts are evident in all of my writing.

What do you think most characterizes your writing?

When I write my first draft of a novel, I see the story in my head like a movie. I always have an outline before I begin, so when I sit down to write, I go into the scene I’m working on almost immediately. I can see colors, hear sounds, feel temperature, smell aromas, and most importantly feel the tension of the conflict of the scene. Sometimes when I go back and re-read a scene during editing, those same emotions are re-created.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

The hardest part was finding time to write while I was still a full time attorney and raising a young man. As I’ve shared in my blog many times, my son, on whom the character Ace is based, is dyslexic. His learning disability required a lot of extra Mom time. Now, he self advocates, is totally independent, and he actually helps me from time to time.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I enjoyed many part of the process, but one that comes to mind is writing Betty. She is Merit Bridge’s office manager who has a no nonsense style and sassy mouth. She’s like your irreverent Auntie who speaks her mind and keeps everyone under her wing. You can’t help but love her, even when she’s bossing you around. She has a whole list of Texas sayings that are in the series and also posted on Twitter and Facebook. People seem to get a kick out of them because they’ve been shared a lot.

Are there under-represented groups or ideas featured if your book? If so, discuss them.

In Dollar Signs: Texas Lady Lawyer vs Boot King, a Goliath corporation has taken advantage of a pair of Hispanic brothers who have English as their second language. The brothers have bought into the American Dream and now have come up against an American Nightmare through the legal system. Merit Bridges, the attorney/protagonist in all of the Texas Lady Lawyer books has a soft spot for the underdog as exhibited by her representation of these men, women who have found themselves on hard times, and her diverse office staff.

If you were a superhero, what would your name be? What costume would you wear?

I’d be a cross between Rosie the Riveter – We Can Do It, and Wonder Woman – Girl Power. Of course, I’d wear red, white, & blue with a cape and bandana tied like a headband. Plenty of mascara and red lipstick would be good.

About the Author

MANNING WOLFE is an author and attorney residing in Austin, Texas, who writes cinematic-style, smart, fast-paced thrillers with a salting of Texas bull. The first in her series, featuring Austin Lawyer

Merit Bridges, is this book. A graduate of Rice University and the University of Texas School of Law, Manning’s experience has given her a voyeur’s peek into some shady characters’ lives and a front row seat to watch the good people who stand against them.