The write stuff; For Quincy lawyer, writing well-received crime novel at night all in a day’s work

Raffi Yessayan

Age: 39

Profession: Criminal defense lawyer in Quincy

Claim to fame: Author of recently published Boston-based crime novel “Eight in the Box”

Q. You’re a former Suffolk County prosecutor. Was there a particular case you handled that was the inspiration for “Eight in the Box”?

A. No, it’s pure fiction. I never worked on a serial-killer case. Fortunately, we haven’t had one that I know of.

Q. How did you find time to write a book and work at your day job?

A. I worked on it at night and on weekends, whenever I could fit it in.

Q. A conversation you overheard between a cop and an attorney in Roxbury District Court motivated you to write “Eight.” What was it about that conversation that inspired you?

A. They were actually talking about another author who wrote serial-killer-type thrillers, and they said he was the best at getting into the mind of the killer and the psychology of the killer. I borrowed the book from one of those guys, and while I was reading I said to my wife, “I think I can write something like this.”

Q. Your wife is a writing teacher. Does she critique your work?

A. Yeah. Most people take a fiction-writing class and “workshop” it in different writing workshops, but I had the benefit of a writing teacher at home. She’s part of a writing group, so she and all the group members read it. I also had another prosecutor and a Boston police sergeant detective read it. I tried to keep it real.

Q. At one point, you were planning to write with your wife. What happened to that plan?

A. All we did was fight. We talked about doing it together, and we were just constantly arguing about how things should happen.

Q. Did you get writers’ block at any point?

A. No. I always felt like I had something to write.

Q. Why do you think people are so into courtroom thrillers?

A. Our liberty is one of the most important things in our society, and whenever you’re in the courtroom in a criminal case, someone’s liberty is at stake. I think we’re a society that is very much intrigued by that.

Q. Any chance of seeing “Eight in the Box” on the silver screen some day?

A. I hope.

Q. Do you have another book in you, or was this a one-shot deal?

A. It’s a two-book contract I signed with Random House, so I’m currently working on book 2. It’s a sequel of sorts to “Eight in the Box,” about the people that are still alive.

Q. Any desire to give up the lawyer gig to write full time?

A. It’s something that may be a possibility at some point down the line, but I still enjoy practicing.

Q. As a first-time author, how did it feel to sell 300 copies in the first 15 minutes of your book-signing at Borders Books?

A. It was pretty cool because the bookstore originally had 120 copies, maybe even less, and I was telling my editor and my agent that I think there are going to be a lot of people at this thing. They told me that selling 100 books is incredible at one of these things. To sell them out was amazing because the bookstore said the only other author that did that well was J.K. Rowling.

- Ricki Meyer