From Lawyer to Novelist: James Arnett’s Path to Historical Fiction (E133)

In today’s episode, I am chatting with James Arnett. James was born and raised in Winnipeg in Canada and graduated in Arts and Law at the University of Manitoba and Harvard Law School. He has been a senior partner of a major Canadian law firm, CEO of a prominent Canadian public company and Chair of an Ontario utility. Along the way, he wrote articles for law review journals, newspapers and magazines, but recently has turned to writing historical fiction. He enjoys trekking, Kayaking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. He lives with his wife, Alix, in Toronto and has 4 children and 5 grandsons. His latest novel, The Monmouth Manifest, was published in September last year. 

In this episode, we chatted about the high percentage of author guest who have been lawyers and then have turned to writing. The importance of good writing while practicing law. His path to getting into writing that started with writing a treatment for a movie. It did not get picked up but then it was suggested he turn it into a novel. He realized he enjoyed and was actually good at writing dialogue. One thing he loves about writing is you get a piece or nugget of history and then you build the plot around it. 

Key Highlights:

• The high percentage of former lawyers who transition into writing careers
• The role of writing in law and how it helps develop storytelling skills
• James’s journey from legal writing to historical fiction
• The experience of writing a movie treatment and transitioning it into a novel
• The joy of discovering historical nuggets and weaving them into engaging narratives
• How James realized he enjoyed and was good at writing dialogue
• The thrill of taking a historical event and building a plot around it

Connect with James Arnett:

• Website
• Purchase James’ books:
  • The Monmouth Manifesto
  • Bean Fate

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

• Graham Greene books
• Anthony Trollope books
• The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• The Howe Dynasty by Julie Flavell

Book Flight

• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
• Bleak House by Charles Dickens
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Ready for a monthly literary adventure? We now have the BFF Book Club. Join us each month to explore a new book. After reading, connect with fellow book lovers and meet the author in a live interview! Can’t make it live? Don’t worry—we’ll send you the recording. You can find all our upcoming book club selections HERE.