Prometheus Books takes special pride in its “Top Fall Priority” authors; this year the focus includes two writers who are also lawyers. Mark Pryor, assistant district attorney in Austin, Tex., has had great success with his Hugo Marston series from the Seventh Street Books imprint. While keeping his series going, he has a surprise for his fans this September with the release of his first standalone book, The Hollow Man. “I’ve always been interested in psychopaths and sociopaths, and it let me delve into some areas that were a little bit darker.” Like Pryor, the main character is British and a prosecutor in Austin, Tex.

Pryor came to BEA for the first time last year. “The folks at Prometheus warned me that it was big and busy and crowded, but I grew up on a farm in the English countryside, I’m not used to that sort of thing. They kept saying, ‘Have a look around and go explore.’ It was terrifying—but I had fun. I basically hid behind the desk and signed books and met lots of really nice people.”

Allen Eskens is at BEA for the first time. An earnest criminal defense attorney in Minnesota, his first book, The Life We Bury (Seventh Street Books, 2014), made quite a splash last year, earning awards and making him a finalist for the Edgar’s Best First Novel. The Guise of Another (Oct.), like his first book, was inspired by a case he was working on. “I had a client who died in a car accident, and in a wrongful death action you have to find all the relatives and then sue on behalf of the surviving family members. This woman had a mysterious past—it went to a certain point and then she just fell off the radar. That’s what gave me the idea for the book.”

Both authors have a very busy schedule at BEA. Today, Pryor signs galleys at the Prometheus Books booth (3249), 2–4 p.m., then at the Mystery Writers of America booth (2657), 4:15–4:45 p.m. Tomorrow, he and Eskens will be at Prometheus, 9–10 a.m., signing galleys. Later that day, Eskens will be at the Mystery Writers of America booth, 1–1:30 p.m. Also tomorrow, both authors will sign in the autographing area: Pryor at Table 3, 2–3 p.m., and Eskens at Table 12, 3–4 p.m. Pryor will be back, 3:30–5 p.m. On Friday, Eskens is back at Prometheus, 9–11 p.m.

This article appeared in the May 27, 2015 edition of PW BEA Show Daily.