Tuesday, October 8, 2019

A Day in my Life at a Prosecutor's Office by Angela Smith

A Day in my Life at a Prosecutor’s Office

By Angela Smith

Lauren, the heroine in Dark Justice, works for the District Attorney’s Office. Since I have worked for twenty-one years at a DA Office, I thought it’d be fun to share more about what Lauren, and myself, does.

Lauren is the victim coordinator. Texas law requires all DA Offices to have a victim assistance coordinator, even if that is the actual District Attorney. Their duties are to assist victims, guardians of victims, or a close relative of deceased victims who are afforded certain rights in Texas. Although I am not the victim coordinator, my position as office manager and my long-term knowledge of the office often requires me to pretty much know everything.

So what does my daily life look like?

Since I’m a writer who also works a fulltime job, my morning has to start early. I wish I could say it always does and I always write such brilliant masterpieces before I go to work, but it doesn’t always work that way. Especially the older I get. I take longer to bounce back from a bad day unfortunately. It takes me less time to get ready now, but I’m usually rushing to get to work on time. Since I’m the office manager, I’m always available to answer questions or put out fires, even on my days off.

We walk into the door and enter a code to get into the office. Luckily, the building entry has bullet resistant glass and a coded door to get through after the reception area. It hasn’t always been that way. The day varies, sometimes with different types of court, but there is almost always a fire to put out. Sometimes it’s just computer or IT problems that I handle now that I’m the office manager.

In Texas, all evidence a DA Office has must be given to defense. The admin are responsible for that process, called Discovery, so we often see heartbreaking and unimaginable things as we prepare these files. We have a digital system now, so everything is scanned. It’s hard to distance yourself from the bad we see, and it can really affect us in our everyday lives. I know, because I’ve been there and I see it in the people I work with.

And sometimes, there’s cases you just feel aren’t guilty. With the evidence piled against Luke in Dark Justice, I’m not sure I would have been able to find him not guilty. Because of my job, I haven’t had to serve on a criminal jury, but I appreciate (and feel sorry for those) who have. It isn’t easy.

So maybe this post isn’t exactly a day in my life, but it’s an accumulation of what goes on. In Dark Justice, Lauren says “There are never any winners in my line of work. Someone always suffers… we also need to remember that the families of the accused are victims. Even though we don’t deal with them, we should stay compassionate and attuned to them.”

I am grateful that I haven’t lost my compassion. I feel compassion for victims, but defendants have families too. Sometimes a defendant is a perfectly good person who made a really bad decision or something just happened. It’s tough. And that is why (one of many reasons) I wrote Dark Justice.

I’m often asked what is my favorite book that I’ve written? And this might just be it.

As a writer, my biggest sense of advice for anyone who wants to write, paint, dance, or follow any other type of dream is to do it, do it consistently, and don’t give up. Get up early if you have to, practice on your lunch break if you have to. And always, always make time for creativity. Because creativity is what keeps us flourishing.

Thanks for reading and thank you to Blogging Authors for allowing me to guest post today! I’m happy to answer any questions you have about me or my books!

About the Author

Angela Smith is a Texas native who, years ago, was dubbed most likely to write a novel during her senior year in high school. She always had her nose stuck in a book, even hiding them behind her textbooks during school study time. Her dream began at a young age when her sister started reciting ‘Brer Rabbit’ after their mom read it to them so often. She told her mom she’d write a story one day and never gave up on that dream even though her mom was never able to see it come to fruition. By day, she works as a certified paralegal and office manager at her local District Attorney’s office and spends her free time with her husband, their pets, and their many hobbies. Although life in general keeps her very busy, her passion for writing and getting the stories out of her head tends to make her restless if she isn’t following what some people call her destiny.

★ WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS: ★

Website → http://www.loveisamystery.com

Blog → www.loveisamystery.com/my-blog

Twitter → www.twitter.com/angelaswriter

Facebook → www.facebook.com/authorangelasmith

Goodreads → https://tinyurl.com/y48996ej

BookBub → https://tinyurl.com/yxr9ezxy

About the Book:

Title: DARK JUSTICE
Author: Angela Smith
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 249
Genre: Romantic Suspense

BOOK BLURB:

She’s in love with her sister’s killer...

Lauren has loved Luke since first grade. They planned to marry—until he murdered her sister. The moment he was sentenced to prison, Lauren fled with her secret baby and made a new life. Now she’ll do anything to keep their daughter safe. But her hard won peace shatters when Luke is exonerated, and it sets her on a path of mixed emotions to discover the truth. Letting a killer into their tightly knit family is out of the question. Or is it?

She almost destroys her life by threatening his…

Prison stole his future with Lauren and twelve years of Luke’s life, so the last thing he needs from her is a knife in the back or a gun in his face. Lauren believes he killed her sister, and he has no plans to pick up where they left off. Luke can’t afford to trust her, but he wants nothing more than to convince her he’s worth fighting for.

Their daughter is in danger…

Luke is heartbroken when he learns they had a child together. Now his daughter is in danger. Lauren trusted the wrong person for far too long, but he hopes she’ll now trust him. Luke will risk everything to keep them safe. And Lauren will risk everything if she lets him into her heart.