In Dissenting Opinion, a federal judge manages to hide his liberal beliefs in order to secure a seat on the Supreme Court. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

In The West Wing episode “The Supremes,” one of the characters remarks that the Court is at its best when justices dissent and passionately argue the law. “Who writes the extraordinary dissent? The one-man minority opinion whose time hasn’t come…” For me, this was a powerful scene, a powerful episode. I imagined a Court where there was one lone justice who disagreed with the majority, and from that Dissenting Opinion was born.

What kind of research was required in order to put this novel together?

I tried to stay away from anything that was too technical about the workings of the Supreme Court; I relied heavily on my memory of government and economics from high school and simple internet searches.

Do you have a favorite scene in this book? One that was especially enjoyable to craft?

As a fan of political and legal fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book, but I think my favorite scene to write was the television interview where I borrowed a quote from The West Wing. Jason is in the television studio and is asked if he thinks he should practice some tolerance toward those who disagree with him and he replies “As long as Justice Reynolds remains intolerant toward women, Black people, gay people, poor people, immigrants and the First and Fourteenth amendments, I will remain intolerant toward him.” Jaws drop, the studio goes silent. I love it.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

I’m working on a psychological thriller, that I hope to have done later this year. It’s about an overworked psychiatrist who begins noticing patterns between his patients, and as he explores these patterns he finds that he is putting himself at risk. As he gets closer to the truth, his own world starts to unravel and he discovers that perception is fragile, reality is shifting and the truth is more terrifying than madness itself.

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