Ben Kincaid

By WILLIAM BERNHARDT

The “master of the courtroom drama” offers a behind-the-scenes look at his New York Times–bestselling legal thriller series (Library Journal).

In 1991, William Bernhardt’s novel, Primary Justice, introduced his character Ben Kincaid to the world. The fictional Oklahoma City lawyer has come a long way since his days as a junior associate at a high-powered law firm. In this essay, Bernhardt guides readers through Ben’s journey in the long-running series, discussing everything from the development of his character to what’s next for Ben. Bernhardt also talks about his experience working as a lawyer, getting started as an author, doing research, and navigating the publishing world. Fans of the New York Times–bestselling series won’t want to miss this fascinating exposé.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MysteriousPress.com Open Road
• Release date: May 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781504084666

WILLIAM BERNHARDT

William Bernhardt (b. 1960), a former attorney, is a bestselling thriller author. Born in Oklahoma, he began writing as a child, submitting a poem about the Oklahoma Land Run to Highlights—and receiving his first rejection letter—when he was eleven years old. Twenty years later, he had his first success, with the publication of Primary Justice (1991), the first novel in the long-running Ben Kincaid series. The success of Primary Justice marked Bernhardt as a promising young talent, and he followed the book with seventeen more mysteries starring the idealistic defense attorney, including Murder One (2001) and Hate Crime (2004). Bernhardt’s other novels include Double Jeopardy (1995) and The Midnight Before Christmas (1998), a holiday-themed thriller. In 1999, Bernhardt founded Bernhardt Books (formerly HAWK Publishing Group) as a way to help boost the careers of struggling young writers. In addition to writing and publishing, Bernhardt teaches writing workshops around the country. He currently lives with his family in Oklahoma. 

Book preview

Ben Kincaid

A Mysterious Profile

William Bernhardt

The Ben Kincaid Story

William Bernhardt

Ben Kincaid was born on April 1, 1962, in Oklahoma City, to wealthy but distant parents. His father was a cardiologist who made a fortune in medical technology. Ben went to private school, then college, where he majored in Music Theory. He had originally hoped to be a concert pianist, then a music teacher, but eventually, feeling pressure to do well for his upper-class family, entered law school …

That’s how a fictional biography of Ben Kincaid would begin. But the reality, of course, is that he originated in my head as a thinly veiled version of myself, with all my positive qualities greatly exaggerated and most of the negative qualities erased. Except perhaps his introverted nature. And his chronic anxiety. And his tendency to accept challenges others would avoid and tenaciously stick to them no matter how sour they turned …

Writing about the origins of a character who has appeared in nineteen novels is no easy task. 1986 seems like a long time ago. But that was when I started writing my first novel, Ben Kincaid’s debut. I spent about two years writing it, in the odd moments when I wasn’t busy as a junior associate in the litigation department at a big Tulsa law firm. Then I spent two more years looking for agents and publishers. Then the book was scheduled for early 1991 but pushed back to the lucrative Christmas season based upon promising feedback. And then, in December of 1991, I was posing at Waldenbooks in front of a book dump filled with my first book while holding my three-month old son Harry, my other new arrival …

You have to understand, all I ever wanted to do was write. I held other jobs to pay bills, some better than others, but not a day went by that I didn’t think about writing. I had published some short pieces, but it wasn’t until I left college that I started thinking about writing something as overwhelming and complex as a novel. After a few abortive attempts at science fiction, I settled on a contemporary novel with