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Redemption
(2025)Scott Pratt & the Birth of Joe Dillard
(A book in the Joe Dillard series)
A non fiction book by Dan Fleser, J D Pratt and Scott Pratt
The true story behind the bestselling Joe Dillard legal thriller series — and the man who lived it before he wrote it.
A lawyer's fall from grace paved the way for an author's rise to unimaginable success.
In December of 2005, Scott Pratt was marched to a jail cell in East Tennessee after being charged with suborning perjury. Within two years, he had written a legal thriller that was a finalist for the top mystery novel worldwide.
Joe Dillard, Scott's primary protagonist, served as a whiteboard for the author's life, enabling him to reimagine and reinvent himself. The connection between character and creator was close enough to be near autobiographical.
Dillard acted as a literary marionette while his puppeteer subjected him to unimaginable adversity. His mother had Alzheimer's and didn't recognize him half the time. His sister was an addict who was in and out of jail. There was strong evidence against Dillard's client. The son of the victim tried to kill him—twice. Another client escaped prison and committed murder.
All of this happened in the first novel. Eight more followed.
Scott didn't spare his main character any more than life had spared him. Dillard wrestled with a rowdy assortment of demons. They stalked him by day and invaded his dreams at night.
Those same demons haunted Scott, creating a vicious tug-of-war between his talent and his volatility. Back and forth his life went from lavish to bankrupt, from a lakeside estate to the cramped quarters of his mother-in-law's basement.
Like Joe Dillard, Scott persevered by leaning into his family's sacred concept of love.
His books have now sold more than six million copies worldwide. His story — of perseverance, second chances, and the refusal to quit — has lived on as what one local attorney called "the great American redemption story."
Regardless of perspective, Scott was no ordinary Joe.
Redemption is the inspiring true memoir of a bestselling crime author who turned his darkest chapter into a literary legacy. Perfect for readers who love stories of perseverance, second chances, and the real lives behind beloved fiction.
A lawyer's fall from grace paved the way for an author's rise to unimaginable success.
In December of 2005, Scott Pratt was marched to a jail cell in East Tennessee after being charged with suborning perjury. Within two years, he had written a legal thriller that was a finalist for the top mystery novel worldwide.
Joe Dillard, Scott's primary protagonist, served as a whiteboard for the author's life, enabling him to reimagine and reinvent himself. The connection between character and creator was close enough to be near autobiographical.
Dillard acted as a literary marionette while his puppeteer subjected him to unimaginable adversity. His mother had Alzheimer's and didn't recognize him half the time. His sister was an addict who was in and out of jail. There was strong evidence against Dillard's client. The son of the victim tried to kill him—twice. Another client escaped prison and committed murder.
All of this happened in the first novel. Eight more followed.
Scott didn't spare his main character any more than life had spared him. Dillard wrestled with a rowdy assortment of demons. They stalked him by day and invaded his dreams at night.
Those same demons haunted Scott, creating a vicious tug-of-war between his talent and his volatility. Back and forth his life went from lavish to bankrupt, from a lakeside estate to the cramped quarters of his mother-in-law's basement.
Like Joe Dillard, Scott persevered by leaning into his family's sacred concept of love.
His books have now sold more than six million copies worldwide. His story — of perseverance, second chances, and the refusal to quit — has lived on as what one local attorney called "the great American redemption story."
Regardless of perspective, Scott was no ordinary Joe.
Redemption is the inspiring true memoir of a bestselling crime author who turned his darkest chapter into a literary legacy. Perfect for readers who love stories of perseverance, second chances, and the real lives behind beloved fiction.
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