Augustine has been a trial lawyer of two decades, who began her legal career in criminal law, as a prosecuting attorney. She later became a civil litigator, handling complex business law cases. She is no stranger to the courtroom or the background drama that brings people there.
She hopes to share her passion for the law, life, and love with her readers through a series of novels, Prosecutors – LA, which is also being developed for a television series. (The novels can be enjoyed independently and out of order). Augustine has lived on the west coast of the United States her whole life.
She loves world travel, art, and history. She spends her free time sipping champagne by the pool unless her nieces and nephews are visiting, then it’s tea parties and remote control airplanes.
Your books have been wildly popular and successful with readers. What is one of the keys to your success?
I dared to mix steamy hot romance with legal drama! Also, I think the key to my success is putting passion into my novels. I want my readers to feel the book. Life is a collection of memorable moments. To give the book a real-life feel, I sprinkle it with memorable moments. So, when I write, I don’t only seek to deliver a good plot.
I also focus on each and every scene, thinking of the emotion or reaction I want to evoke from the reader in that particular moment. If I want to surprise them, I’m careful with my word choice leading up to the reveal. If I want to make them cry, I deliver enough detail to make them feel the sadness of the moment. If I want to make them laugh, I deliver a quick and solid punch-line at just the right moment in dialogue.
A Brush with Love, A Brush with the Law is a brilliant read, what was the inspiration behind the story?
The sexiness of L.A. really inspired the book. It’s a sexiness that can’t be resisted, not even by a good girl who is hard at work fighting crime. She inevitably encounters a bad boy who is completely enthralled by the Hollywood lifestyle. And wouldn’t you know it, he’s her soul mate.
When I began writing A Brush with Love, A Brush with the Law, I chose romance because I was trying to avoid legal drama or anything that reminded me of work; but legal drama just naturally wove its way into the story, and voila! I ended up with A Brush with Love, A Brush with the Law.
It’s funny because my assistant at the time was an avid crime reader. She tried to get me to write a crime novel because I’m a former Deputy D.A., but I said to her, “Do you know how many years I’ve spent trying to forget about crime?” She laughed, then shyly suggested an alternative: “romance?” That made perfect sense to me. All women, including myself, love romance, even if they are avid crime readers. So I guess the book is also inspired by the two parts of me. Part woman. Part lawyer.
You create characters that are extremely dynamic and engaging. What is the secret behind developing the characters in your stories?
I try to imagine what motivates the character, what brought them to this point in life, and what informs their world perspective. That usually produces an intriguing character, who can even surprise me at times. For example, Venus, a character in my third book, surprised me quite a bit when I realized she actually had the capacity to love genuinely; when originally, I thought she was nothing but a self-serving thief and a con-artist.
Also, I think with my background in law, I have a deep understanding of what drives people. I’ve seen so many different personality types in so many different scenarios that tapping into the human psyche is easy for me. And fun!
In A Brush With Love, A Brush with the Law who out of all the characters is your favorite and if you could meet them in real life what would you say to them?
Oh, that’s a tough one! It’s hard to pick one. Can I choose between David and Sarah? Isn’t that like a parent telling you which child they love best? If I’m forced to choose, I guess I’ll pick David, just because he really is a girl’s dream, once you look beyond the façade of his Hollywood lifestyle and see who he really is deep down.
Sure, he’s been sowing his wild oats, but the love he has for Sarah is so pure and strong, and admirable. I think I would tell David to keep the faith when things look like they’re falling apart between him and Sarah.
While writing A Brush With Love, A Brush with the Law did you learn anything new about yourself and your writing along the way?
I certainly did! I learned how to push past my own prudish ways so I could write a great love scene! Ha! A writer has to push beyond her own personal barriers to allow the story to deliver everything life offers, in the most passionate way. So I put a lot of energy into delivering vivid love scenes that indulge the reader’s senses, from foreplay to screaming orgasm.
I am sure your fans are wondering, so I have to ask – is there another book in your future apart from White Jr’s Trial that is also coming out around the same time?
Of course! In Spring 2021, we will release The Suspect. Jack Wayne is the main character. You will first meet him as a supporting character in White Jr.’s Trial. Then, in The Suspect, you’ll follow Jack’s saga as he pursues a seductive vixen who is operating an international crime ring. But the suspect, Venus, is going to spin a web of love that will make things very tricky for both of them.
Her book A Brush with Love, A Brush with the Law is available on Amazon Prime.
