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gayletiller · 08-10-2010, 06:48 PM

Lexi,

Thank you for your response.

To answer your question about the lawyer being in dire straits, below are the first few opening paragraphs of chapter one from my suspense novel "24 Hour Lottery Ticket."

Chapter One from 24 Hour Lottery Ticket
April 19, 2009 1:37 p.m.

I stared at the stack of bills in front of me. After being in law practice as a sole practitioner for three years, I still had a hard time. There were times when I wanted to shut down my office, but I couldn’t. I had no place to go.

The county refused to promote me after I had passed the bar. My boss wanted me to stay at my old job as a housing specialist. She said I didn’t have what it took to be a good lawyer.

I then applied at numerous law firms in Silicon Valley and not one single firm was interested in me. Maybe it was because it had taken me five times to pass the bar and I had graduated with a C average from a fourth tier law school.

Taking hypothetical tests and getting good grades never had been my thing. I was better at real life projects. And for some reason, law firms were more interested in academics than my twelve years of housing experience with the county.

I wanted to practice law so I had no choice but to start my own business. I left my $60,000 a year job and opened an office in downtown San Jose.

I thought clients would come in droves because of the location. It took almost three months before I got my first client. After that, clients trickled in, but not enough to make any real money. I tried everything to increase business: a web site, ads, joining nonprofit boards, and a referral panel but nothing worked.

After three years, my savings and 401k were gone. I was living off credit cards and they were almost maxed to the limit.

I heard a knock at my office door. I glanced at my calendar and it showed that I did not have any appointments. I didn’t want to answer the door. It could be bill collectors and I had nothing to give them.

I ignored the knock and went back to looking at my bills. The knock became louder. I walked to my door, peered out my peephole and saw an older woman.

To read the full first chapter along with chapters two and three visit, http://www.24hourlotteryticket.com.

"24 Hour Lottery Ticket" is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

08-10-2010, 06:48 PM	#7
gayletiller Gayle Tiller Posts: 11 Karma: 10000 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: San Jose, CA Device: none	Lexi, Thank you for your response. To answer your question about the lawyer being in dire straits, below are the first few opening paragraphs of chapter one from my suspense novel "24 Hour Lottery Ticket." Chapter One from 24 Hour Lottery Ticket April 19, 2009 1:37 p.m. I stared at the stack of bills in front of me. After being in law practice as a sole practitioner for three years, I still had a hard time. There were times when I wanted to shut down my office, but I couldn’t. I had no place to go. The county refused to promote me after I had passed the bar. My boss wanted me to stay at my old job as a housing specialist. She said I didn’t have what it took to be a good lawyer. I then applied at numerous law firms in Silicon Valley and not one single firm was interested in me. Maybe it was because it had taken me five times to pass the bar and I had graduated with a C average from a fourth tier law school. Taking hypothetical tests and getting good grades never had been my thing. I was better at real life projects. And for some reason, law firms were more interested in academics than my twelve years of housing experience with the county. I wanted to practice law so I had no choice but to start my own business. I left my $60,000 a year job and opened an office in downtown San Jose. I thought clients would come in droves because of the location. It took almost three months before I got my first client. After that, clients trickled in, but not enough to make any real money. I tried everything to increase business: a web site, ads, joining nonprofit boards, and a referral panel but nothing worked. After three years, my savings and 401k were gone. I was living off credit cards and they were almost maxed to the limit. I heard a knock at my office door. I glanced at my calendar and it showed that I did not have any appointments. I didn’t want to answer the door. It could be bill collectors and I had nothing to give them. I ignored the knock and went back to looking at my bills. The knock became louder. I walked to my door, peered out my peephole and saw an older woman. To read the full first chapter along with chapters two and three visit, http://www.24hourlotteryticket.com. "24 Hour Lottery Ticket" is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Last edited by gayletiller; 08-10-2010 at 06:53 PM.