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Mark M. Bello is an attorney and also the author of the Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series. In 1982, Mark was one of the first attorneys to sue the Catholic Church in a case of sexual abuse by clergy. In this podcast, Mark discusses his books, the Catholic Church case, the Zachary Blake character and how attorneys can get started writing.
Mark is also the co-host of the “Justice Counts” podcast. Bello draws upon 44 years of courtroom experience and a passion for justice to write captivating novels and hard-hitting commentaries.
You can visit Mark’s site here: https://www.markmbello.com/.
The “Justice Counts” podcast is available here: https://www.spreaker.com/show/justice-counts_1.
See all episodes or subscribe to the Personal Injury Marketing Minute here: https://optimizemyfirm.com/podcasts/.
Transcription:
Welcome to the Personal Injury Marketing Minute, where we quickly cover the hot topics in the legal marketing world. I’m your host, Lindsey Busfield.
Living in a world that is so focused on what we do and how we do it, it is important to sit back and reflect on why we do it. As children, we all had a grand idea of what we wanted to be when we grew up. Firemen, lawyers, SEO podcast hosts. Well, maybe that was a later dream. Nonetheless, we saw ourselves as the heroes and heroines of our adulthood. Many of you probably dreamed of becoming lawyers when you grew up. To do so, you traversed law schools, student loans, fierce competition, regulations, and naysayers. You sacrificed time and money into becoming a lawyer most likely because you wanted to help people and contribute to the greater good. And while the day-to-day operations of lawyer life probably don’t make you feel like donning your red cape and flying about town, it is important to listen to that calling that is still inside, cheering you on, summoning your inner hero.
Mark Bello knows legal heroes. In fact, he wrote one into existence with the Zachary Blake legal thriller series. In this novel series, Zachary Blake is a lawyer who combats social justice issues that are prevalent in our government, churches, and society today. Thank you for joining us, Mark.
Mark:
Thanks for having me, Lindsey.
Lindsey:
Well, for starters, give us a little more information on the series as a whole.
Mark:
On the series as a whole. Well, I’ve written eight novels starting with Betrayal of Faith and the eighth and most recent novel is You Have The Right to Remain Silent. It is a departure from the prior novels, because as you mentioned in your intro, most of them have been based on newsworthy topics or what the press likes to call, “ripped from the headlines.” The last one is a straight whodunit. It’s not a “ripped from the headlines” novel. So, I took off after seven novels from my political, legal soapbox and created a different type of novel.
But the topics, as we’ll probably discuss, have gone from clergy abuse to white supremacy, to school shootings, to police on minority shootings, to the Me-Too movement in the Supreme Court, to a bigoted president, a businessman who gets elected and does bad things to the country. Sound familiar? To the immigration crisis. So, I’ve written about topics that are related to the news. The first book, unlike all the rest, was based on a case out of my practice and that remains the only one that I took from my practices.
Lindsey:
So all of these cases that you’re talking about, they all feel very new, they all feel like they are very relevant today, but you’ve actually been writing for quite a while. So, when did you start writing the series and what exactly prompted you to do so?
Mark:
Well, it took me probably 25 years or so to write the first novel. I had a law practice to run. I had family, I had four children and nine grandchildren, although I didn’t have them back then, all of them. But I was one of the first lawyers back in the ’80s, that’s the 1980s, to sue the Catholic Church over the clergy child abuse scandal. And this was long before the Boston scandal that dominated the news and resulted in the movie Spotlight. The church hierarchy, their behavior felt so conspiratorial. They covered up prior incidents. They hid witnesses. They sealed prior court proceedings. So, the lawyers out there will know what I’m talking about with that. They made me travel to seven states taking depositions and tracking down witnesses.
Nothing came easy in that case and in the end, we prevailed and did a good job for our clients. And as the case was winding down, I said, “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe someone behaved like this, especially a religious institution. This would make a great book.” And I just never did it. I always said I would do it, I always promised myself I would, but I never had the time or the inclination and I didn’t think I had the ability frankly. But 25 years or so later, it’s a bucket list item for lack of a better way to say it, I wrote the novel Betrayal of Faith, which is my first novel, and I fulfilled the promise I made to myself, even though it took a long time. The rest followed relatively more easily and as I indicated, I’ve written eight Zachary Blake novels now.
Lindsey:
Wow, what an impressive catalog you have there. Definitely, you have a lot to say, you have a lot of experience that all feeds into these and what a great unique perspective. So, tell us a little bit about Zachary Blake as a character. When you were creating the character, was there someone in particular that you molded him after and how does he approach his cases?
Mark:
Well, I modeled Zachary after a number of lawyers I’d met along the way. And I would say those lawyers are both fictional and non-fictional and there’s some of myself in Zachary Blake. He’s a compilation of a lot of different lawyers.
Lindsey:
And so, what is his motivation for taking on the cases that he does?
Mark:
Well, in its purest form, as corny as it sounds, justice. Usually, it’s justice for the little guy, usually against the Goliath defendant like the church, like the government, like an evil corporate defendant. In Faith, for example, we’re dealing with, what I call in the book, The Church. I don’t mention the word Catholic, because I wanted it to be non-denominational. I wanted it to be a story about good versus evil and not be against any particular religion or religion in general, but that organized religion as a conglomerate can actually present itself as evil.
In Betrayal of Justice, the book you and I talked about off-air a few weeks ago, we’re dealing with an evil president. It’s based on the 2016 election. I was not a fan of either candidate, but I was less of a fan of Donald Trump. For someone to say, “I’m going to build walls. I’m going to deport all Muslims,” as a Jewish person, I’m hearing this man doesn’t like minorities and the Jews could be next. So I wrote a book about an evil businessman who becomes president on a platform of Make America Pure Again and wants to build walls not only on the southern border, but on the northern border as well. That was that book. If I recall correctly, you were going to read that. Did you get a chance to?
Lindsey:
I haven’t yet. Having two little-
Mark:
Okay, all right.
Lindsey:
Jumps in the way of my free time.
Mark:
I know the feeling. I forgive you. I wrote a book called Betrayal in Blue, which takes on white supremacy. I wrote a book called Betrayal in Black, which takes on cop on black shootings, a traffic stop shooting. It’s based on the Philando Castile case if you recall that from the news, where the young woman took out her iPhone and videotaped the whole shooting in Minnesota.
I wrote a book called Betrayal High about school shootings, Supreme Betrayal, which is based on the Kavanaugh hearings on the Me-Too movement in the Supreme Court, and a book called Betrayal at the Border, which takes on the immigration crisis. And then of course, I mentioned to you that I broke the mould with my latest novel, You Have The Right to Remain Silent. It has a political slant, but it’s a whodunit. So his motivation, again, as corny as it sounds, is justice usually against the Goliath defendant.
Lindsey:
Well, and in this day and age, whether you are looking at the church as a giant power entity or the government as a giant power entity, it can feel as a lawyer, as a citizen, like we are up against a Goliath. In many of the news headlines that we’re in, we feel like the little guy. The series is great because the Zachary Blake character shows that we still have power as an individual and we can still work towards justice. And I think that, that is a great motivation that we can all relate to and it’s very hopeful and uplifting. And so, looking at Zachary Blake’s character again in a little bit more depth, what characteristics do you think are at his core? What do you think makes him successful in his efforts, in his pursuit of justice?
Mark:
Well, before I answer that question, to your earlier point, the courtroom is a great equalizer. Whether you’re David fighting Goliath, when you set foot in the courtroom, assume you’ve gone toe-to-toe at the discovery stage and you’ve been able to afford the litigation somehow, even though you’re fighting someone who’s got the means to crush you as an individual lawyer. You walk into that courtroom and you’re no longer David in the courtroom. It’s even-steven, and the judge… And I’ve run into this, unless the judge is biased. And even then, you still got a jury to rely on.
The courtroom is a great equalizer, but to your question about Zachary’s characteristics, putting aside the first book where we start and we’ll talk about that I think a little bit later, but he’s absolutely fearless. He’s very compassionate. At the same time, he’s relentless and as the books go on, he becomes very wealthy. Maybe, I’m giving… Spoiler alert! He becomes quite wealthy and he’s very charitable. That makes him a force to be reckoned with. When we’re discussing David versus Goliath, when you take on a case with Zachary Blake, the battle becomes Goliath versus Goliath when he’s involved. And that’s something I never had. If I did fight a corporate defendant case-by-case, I never had the means that Blake eventually has. And that is a huge difference maker, both on the basis of the cases he can take and how he handles those cases.
Lindsey:
Absolutely. That gives him so many more resources and unlimited… Well, less limited creativity in how he can go about his cases in general.
Mark:
He can also do a lot of pro-bono work that I just never had the time or the resources to be able to take on.
Lindsey:
Absolutely, yeah. And so, what is it about Zachary Blake’s character that lawyers should strive to emulate?
Mark:
Well, as I indicated, he’s a far better lawyer than I ever was. I would say fearlessness. He’s absolutely, tenaciously fearless and I wasn’t that way. He’s arrogant, but in a good way, when it comes to his client’s causes and I didn’t have that level of arrogance. I mean, I don’t know how I come across as a guest on your show, but I’m a rather humble guy. He’s quite arrogant and talented and his wealth gives him a power, like I said earlier, that I never had. On the other hand, he’s very kind, he’s very compassionate. He has very compelling social justice and charitable views. Those things within my means probably come from me. But boy, there’s a lot about his character that lawyers, if they read him, could use in their personal life and in their practice.
Lindsey:
Right. Yeah, it sounds like he definitely has some very inspirational characteristics and-
Mark:
He’s a cool guy.
Lindsey:
Yeah, he’s a cool guy. He’s somebody that we would want to hang out with.
Mark:
I like him a lot.
Lindsey:
Well, is there anything about him that humanizes him to a tragic flaw?
Mark:
Flaws from the beginning to the end, from book one to book eight, I would say he has very little flaws unless you consider that cocky arrogance that a lot of people don’t like about lawyers, for instance, unless you consider that a flaw. The first book exposes numerous flaws that drive him in future books. He almost gives on the law in the first book. And again, spoiler alert, I don’t want to… If you’re going to read the series, the first book is the place to start and I don’t want to ruin the first book for people, but pretty quickly, you find out that he is in pretty bad shape.
Mark:
He almost gives up on the law, he’s down and out. He suffers from burnout I would say. He’s freshly divorced. He just had a bad breakup with his client… With his partners, excuse me. He’s a borderline alcoholic almost. He’s just an absolute mess. He gets this phone call from an old client and everything changes at that point. Even though that call by itself doesn’t do it, he’s got to try to sell her out first. He’s that bad. He tries to sell this woman out for a quick buck. She fires him. And again, spoiler alert, but this part happens pretty early into the book. And that event, the termination on what might be the biggest case in his life, is what motivates him to turn his life around.
Lindsey:
That’s his rock bottom moment.
Mark:
Yeah, I would say so. The reader knows where he started though, if they read from book one to book eight, and that I think helps or should help if you’re a lawyer, for instance, or someone who maybe resents lawyers. It’s hard to envy or resent Zachary Blake considering he came from this.
Lindsey:
And I think many adults, they might not hit all of those rock bottom feelings or those events with alcoholism or divorce or just complete apathy for what it is that they used to have passion for, but I think that most people could probably relate to him on some level, because most of us have probably felt at least something that he is experiencing-
Mark:
No question.
Lindsey:
As he builds up to first hit rock bottom and then catalyst him into a new phase of life.
Mark:
No question. As far as other qualities that you… I forgot exactly how you put it, but he can take a joke. He’s self-deprecating. He doesn’t mind the jokes at his expense and he can take it and give it out. He’s a great friend. He’s a wonderful husband, having done it the second time, and a good stepfather even though he’s not a good father. He has a prior family that he’s abandoned, but his new family, as you will find out, becomes the focus of his life… At least his personal life. Above all though, he’s a tremendous advocate for his clients.
Lindsey:
Wow, it sounds like he’s just a great guy. And as you touched on with his wife and his new family, every hero leans on their support network for guidance and wisdom. Who is part of Zachary’s support team?
Mark:
That would be Jennifer, his wife, his stepsons, Kenny and Jake. And again, it’s a spoiler alert I suppose, but… Well, let’s put it this way. You’ll find out who they are in the first [inaudible 00:20:31]. His investigator is a guy by the name of Micah Love, who’s a lot of fun. If you think about the sidekicks or the private investigators, the Paul Drake to Perry Mason, although Micah is much more adjacent to Alexander in Seinfeld than Paul Drake in Perry Mason, but he’s that kind of fun.
The officer staff plays a part, but probably smaller than I intend, especially… I know what a support staff is in a law practice and I probably should give them more input and control than I do. There’s another place where he’s like me. I’m a “yes dear” kind of husband. I was a “yes dear” kind of boss as well and I don’t mean that to be sexist or demeaning or to say that my staff had to be female, but they were. I put myself in their hands and I let them control those things that I didn’t do well or couldn’t do well and I went off and did the things I did well. I couldn’t do the things I did well, unless they did the things they did well. And that goes for my wife and my children and my office staff and all these so-called little people that operate behind the scenes. For all-
Lindsey:
That’s a huge job.
Mark:
For all the lawyers out there who are listening to this, they know what I’m talking about.
Lindsey:
Oh, yeah.
Mark:
But the center of his life, again, if I can get corny for a second, were his clients. He works the justice system, both criminal and civil, and he does it expertly on behalf of his clients. That’s his biggest motivation.
Lindsey:
That’s great. Well, what do you hope that lawyers feel or do after reading the series?
Mark:
Well, I hope that they see a lot of themselves in Zachary Blake and if they don’t, then I hope they see perhaps a lawyer they can be or the lawyer they hope to be. As I said before, our clients count on us. Their case is probably the biggest thing they have going in their lives. Some of us, including myself from time to time, might look at a client as a quote, “file,” unquote, in their office. It’s one file in a group of many files, but it’s critically important to them. Zachary Blake understands that and so should all of us.
Lindsey:
That’s great. What a great takeaway. Well, Mark, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your insight on the Zachary Blake series. Where can listeners go to get a copy of the first book in the novel or in the novel series?
Mark:
All the books are on Amazon and other online book sellers like Barnes & Noble and what have you. My website is Mark, M-A-R-K, middle initial M, B-E-L-L-O, markmbello.com, and you can find them all there and click on them there and I think you’ll be taken to Amazon if I’m not mistaken. There’s also on the website a free novella that you can download about Zachary’s bar mitzvah. It’s a prequel to the series and his grandfather’s escape from Auschwitz, the death camp in Nazi Germany, acts as a springboard for his social justice roots and his desire to be a lawyer.
Mark:
I’ve also written, as I indicated earlier, one children’s… I’ve actually written five children’s books, but I have a terrific illustrator by the name of [Melinda Falgout 00:25:16] and she is brilliant. I want her to illustrate all of my books and she’s busy. I’ve gotten her to do one. She’s supposed to work on the next one in August. So until she’s ready to illustrate them, I won’t release them. I call that the children’s safety social justice series. I’ve written a book about bullying. A little biracial child is bullied on his first day of school for being different.
Mark:
I’ve written a book about distracted driving. Basically, the kids in the back seat should tell mom and dad to hang up their phones or put down their food or put down their makeup. This is personal. I wrote a book about being the smallest kid in the class and being teased for that. My grandson is going through it. He’s nine years old. He’s the shortest kid in the class because I was [inaudible 00:26:27]. So, size does not run in our family. So, stuff like that. How to ride a bike, how to swim in a pool, so on and so forth. So, safety social justice.
That’s going to be my children’s series.
Lindsey:
Great. Well, it sounds like you’ve got a lot on the way, a lot to look forward to, and we will be sure to post a link to your website so that people can go and take a look at your series. So thank you again so much, Mark. It’s been an absolute pleasure.
Mark:
By the way, one more thing.
We talked about this when you pre-interviewed me two weeks ago. The cool thing about this for me has been I stopped practicing law, but I got to do this afterward. And for all you lawyers out there that are in your sixties and seventies and you’re looking for something interesting to do, write. We all as lawyers have the ability to read and write. We’ve written briefs. Sometimes, fantastic briefs. Sometimes, it reads like novels. I’m really enjoying my political advocacy, my legal advocacy, and my writing career. Even though I’m not tremendously financially successful, I’m having a ball. So I would suggest to people who are looking for something to do post-practice, this has been a lot of fun for me.
Lindsey:
That’s great. It’s a great way to keep contributing, keeping your legal mind sharp, and finding another outlet for it. Personally, I would love to do another interview exclusively talking about being a writer in retirement and I think that would be a really interesting podcast as well.
Mark:
Anytime.
Lindsey:
All right. Well, great. Thank you-
Mark:
You’re my new favorite person.
Lindsey:
Yay! Well, I can’t wait until we can record that. We’ll get that one on the boo, so there’ll be something to look forward to.
Mark:
All right.
Lindsey:
All right. Thank you.
