Record attendance when New York Times #1 bestselling author of The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly, visits NBBA ...

Jonathon King, author of Blue Edge of Midnight, conducted a Q & A on Legal Fiction Writing ...

On November 8, over seventy-five people attended the North Broward Bar Association’s monthly luncheon at The Grill, featuring #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly. Mr. Connelly, whose book “The Lincoln Lawyer” was recently made into a successful major motion picture starring Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Philippe, participated in an hour long session regarding legal fiction writing. The question and answer session was moderated by fellow local author, Jonathon King, who is best known for the popular Max Freeman mystery series.

Both authors were at one time reporters for the Florida Sun Sentinel, and offered very candid views to the audience as to their respective writing backgrounds, methodologies, inspirations, and influences. For instance, Mr. Connelly explained that he often shadowed practicing attorneys in and out of court, and that many of the seemingly implausible scenarios in his books actually came from real life events he had witnessed. Mr. King told those in attendance that sometimes even he is unaware of the plot twists in his books until they “come off my pencil.”

After Mr. Connelly responded to Mr. King’s questions on legal fiction writing, both authors took unscripted questions from the audience. A book signing was held immediately after the event for fans. The North Broward Bar Association is extremely grateful to Mr. Connelly and Mr. King, and thanks both of these outstanding authors for taking time out of their very busy schedules to participate in this special event.

Mr. Connelly has authored 24 books and sold forty-three million books worldwide over the past eighteen years. He is the recipient of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel (1992), Anthony Award, and Los Angeles Times Best Mystery Thriller Award, among others. Mr. Connelly’s latest novel in his Harry Bosch series, “The Drop,” will be released on November 28, 2011, by publisher Little, Brown & Company.

Mr. King has authored eight books, including his most recent release “Midnight Guardian.” Jonathon spent several years as a reporter in South Florida and Philadelphia prior to becoming a full-time author, and is also the recipient of the prestigious Edgar Award for Best First Novel (2002). That work, “Blue Edge of Midnight,” was entirely written during two months in seclusion.

The North Broward Bar Association holds its monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of every month at The Grill, located at 2101 West Cypress Creek Road, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The next scheduled meeting will take place on January 10, 2012, when its speaker will be Florida Bar President, Scott Hawkins. For more information on the North Broward Bar Association, please contact Wilma Stevenson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Pictured above: Front row: Wilma Stevenson, President; Karen Faulkner, Vice President. Back row: Brian Rowlson, Secretary; Jonathon King; Michael Connelly; and Brian Bell, Treasurer.

 Sponsor: The exclusive sponsor of North Broward Bar Association, Inc. monthly luncheons is: