Q&A: 'One Night in Amboise' Legal Mystery Author Ken Malovos


Ken Malovos has been practicing law in Sacramento for over forty years. He spent twelve years with the Public Defender’s Office and twenty-five years as a business litigator. He now serves full-time as a mediator and arbitrator. Ken has written two previous Mike Zorich novels and both have been recognized by Chanticleer Book Reviews. Contempt of Court was a First Place Category winner in the legal genre of the Mystery and Mayhem competition in 2014. Fatal Reunion was a finalist in the Thriller and Suspense competition in 2016. Ken and his wife live in Sacramento.

His latest book is the legal mystery, ONE NIGHT IN AMBOISE.

Visit his website at www.malovoslaw.com.

About the Book:

JIM HANSEN AND CORINNE LARSON are overseas college students at Amboise, France. After meeting at a local bar they leave and encounter a drunk. JIM hits him and the man may be dead. At the manor house where they live, they kiss and make love. The next day she accuses him of rape but does not formally charge him. He denies the charge. The police investigate the killing of the drunk.

After they return to California, CORINNE struggles with the whole incident, wondering if she was at fault. She talks to her sisters and then seeks professional help after turning to alcohol.  JIM goes to law school and becomes a deputy district attorney, always wondering if the allegation of rape will surface and whether he did the right thing. He marries another overseas student from Amboise.

ALICIA OBREGON contacts JIM and asks him to dismiss the criminal case against her husband. She informs JIM that she knows all about Amboise and threatens to expose him. He throws the case, thereby allowing a guilty person to go free. Over time he pays her money.

JIM is appointed a judge and ALICIA continues to blackmail him. CORINNE’s husband comes to Sacramento and confronts JIM in his chambers. JIM says he is sorry about the whole thing. JIM goes to a rehabilitation facility but in a few weeks he leaves, feeling he has resolved all of his concerns. 

ALICIA is found dead. ALICIA’s husband is charged with her murder but he implicates JIM because he knows all about the blackmailing scheme. JIM then is arrested and must stand trial for the murder of ALICIA. The prosecutor focuses on JIM’s motive. JIM asks noted trial lawyer MIKE ZORICH to represent him.  JIM turns down a plea bargain and a sensational jury trial follows. JIM is not truthful with his wife, his attorney or the jury. CORINNE’s husband testifies. The jury cannot reach a decision and JIM must live with a tarnished reputation amidst unsettled questions whether he killed ALICIA and raped CORINNE.

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Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life!  Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process.  Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning?  When did you come up with the idea to write your book?


I started this book about two years. I attended an overseas college campus program, so was familiar with this type of setting that I wanted. Also, I wanted to explore the idea of a hidden secret shared by two people that might eventually affect their lives. Something along the lines of Dennis Hastert, the former Speaker of the House, or Bill Cosby. So I put the two together. How do people conduct themselves when running their lives with a secret they hope never sees the light of day?


Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?


It is hard writing novels. I have asked for help from friends in reading my various versions and have just kept at it. Perseverance, in a word. I have tremendous respect for people who write historical novels, given the research needed.


Q: Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?


I self-published through CreateSpace.


Q: Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?


Looking back, it was fairly easy to use the CreateSpace platform. This is now my third book with them. No big surprises. They offer a lot of help along the way.


Q: What other books are you working on and when will they be published?


I am working with a couple of plot ideas right now, but nothing that I can say will be published on a given date.


Q: What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?


Women react to rape in many different ways. There is no set time for grieving or coming to grips with this horrible event. You might think that 30 years is a long time but each woman is different. No place for judgment.


Q: Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?


A more balanced acceptance of an allegation of rape and its repercussions. When we do not know for sure what happened, how do we respond? What can and what should we do? Also, what does it feel like to carry a secret? How does it affect you?

  
Q: Thank you again for this interview!  Do you have any final words?


Thank you for this opportunity and I hope your readers enjoy this book. I am always interested in feedback.



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