// BBC ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS — MODA & SOCIETÀ
'I did my first book signing in a police custody suite'
Steve Cavanagh said misdirection, distraction, persuasion and manipulation are transferrable skills between conmen and lawyers
For former lawyer turned crime writer Steve Cavanagh, addressing a court room jury is not a world away from writing a compelling novel. Indeed the idea for his first book came to him while he was cross-examining a witness.
"I kind of conned them into revealing that they were lying and it hit me then that con artists and trial lawyers have all the same skills," he said.
The idea sparked something in Cavanagh, who has just released his tenth novel about the conman turned lawyer Eddie Flynn.
The Northern Irish author has now sold more than five million books globally and has appeared on the Sunday Times bestseller list.
Cavanagh's writing partner Muffin the dog insists that a ball is thrown regularly during the creative process
Cavanagh's home, near Lisburn, is busy. His daughter pops in to say hello, Muffin the dog is looking for someone to throw a ball, he's not long back from a US tour promoting his last book and he's packing to leave the following day for a UK book tour.
It's something he never really thought would happen when he was working as a solicitor.
He grew up on Palestine Street in south Belfast, went to school in Ballynahinch, then onto Belfast tech before going to uni in Dublin.
He only started writing in his mid 30s, after his mum died.