A gifted communicator, Cara is the award-winning, best-selling author of more than 40 novels and 2 nonfiction titles. She also serves on the full-time faculty at the Daniels School of Business at Purdue University as a Clinical Associate Professor teaching undergraduate and graduate business law and ethics courses. In addition, Cara often speaks to community groups and writer’s conferences. An attorney who specializes in adoptions, employment law, and business formation, Cara is licensed in Virginia and Indiana.
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What advice would you give to aspiring authors who dream of publishing their own stories one day?
It’s important to commit to the process of writing. What will you do each day to make progress? Will you write 500 words a day? Will you do research? Will you edit? Work on your proposal?
There is something you can do each day that will move you closer to completion. Do that. And then do it again. Now I’m going to go take my own advice.
What’s the most unexpected place or moment where inspiration struck for your story?
For my book in the Two Dog collection, I was reading an article in the Omaha World-Herald. It was about how medical examiners are selected in Nebraska. I couldn’t believe it. I could/would be a medical examiner in my home state, and I still think that’s crazy. I’m pretty smart, but I don’t feel qualified to make those sorts of deliberations. I’m sure in the larger cities, there are close partnerships between the county attorneys and doctors, but in the smaller locales, that would be harder to arrange…and from there, my writer’s mind started spinning with story ideas.
If you could collaborate with any fictional character (not your own) to write your next book, who would it be and why?
This probably sounds cliché, but I’d love to collaborate with someone like Jo March. I almost typed Hercule Poirot, but he’d drive me crazy as would Sherlock Holmes, so I’m going with Jo March or Anne Shirley. I’ve always loved those strong heroines.
When a popular college student is murdered, her international roommate, Anneliese, becomes a prime suspect. But law professor Margeaux Robbins doesn’t believe that the quiet, lonely German girl in her class is the killer.
Chase Crandall is a burned-out defense attorney ready to extricate himself from the grind of criminal law. After he loses a client to tragedy, he’s ready for an in-house corporate position.
When Chase is assigned to Anneliese’s case, Margeaux is horrified. She doesn’t want him to provide legal counsel—not after what happened to his past client. And not with the evidence incriminating Anneliese.
Despite their mutual misgivings, the lawyer and professor pair up to find the killer and prove Anneliese’s innocence. Will they be able to untangle the mystery—and navigate their growing interest in one another—before the wrong person is charged with murder?
Mistaken Justice – Cara Putman’s contribution to the Justice anthology
When Riley Collins is found dead, his brother Logan refuses to accept the suicide verdict. Determined to uncover the truth, Logan investigates Riley’s files and discovers a link to a dark event from his Navy past involving a high-ranking officer. With the help of Sydney Sims, the Assistant County Attorney, Logan faces increasing danger as they uncover more evidence. Amidst threats and break-ins, Logan and Sydney must unravel the mystery behind Tyler’s death before the killer strikes again.
