Author Spotlight: Jayna Breigh
January 28, 2026
Jayna Breigh is a retired attorney living in the southeastern United States and the author of The Hunted Heir. She brings to her writing over a decade of experience in trust and estate litigation in Los Angeles. She is the author of An Appearance of Impropriety, which released January 27, 2026 and is available wherever books are sold.
You’re a retired attorney and have over a decade of experience in trust and estate litigation. How does that background show up in your stories or in the way you write?
Jayna: It is important to me that the back-and-forth between lawyers in and out of the courthouse comes across authentically. There is a rhythm and a cadence to it. A tone of voice can lend additional authority to your words or let opposing counsel or a witness know what you actually think about what they just said. It’s hard to convey on paper, but I work at making sure readers feel like they are inside a courtroom listening to lawyers, judges, and witnesses.
Do you have a favorite or most relatable character you’ve written? Why are they your favorite?
Jayna: My favorite character, hands down, is DeMarcus Johnson from The Hunted Heir. DeMarcus also has a cameo in An Appearance of Impropriety. He’s got such a quick sense of humor. He comes across as cocky, but deep inside he’s a pushover. If he were a real person, I think I’d enjoy every moment spending time with him while he cracks jokes, teases people, and never for one moment takes himself seriously.
What is your ideal writing space? Where do you get the most writing done?
Jayna: My ideal writing place and the place where I get the most writing done are unfortunately not the same. In a perfect world, I’d write in a cute coffee shop, the library, or a cozy nook in my house. On rare occasions, I have that luxury. The reality is that two of my books were written at my son’s baseball practices. Some writing happens while I do double duty, walking for exercise. I’ve written while waiting for the dentist. Basically almost anywhere I can squeeze in some words.
In An Appearance of Impropriety, Judge Mahalia Jackson has a rule for herself that she must never date a lawyer. How do conventions like that hold up in the legal world? Is it frowned upon?
Jayna: If a judge is dating a lawyer who will never appear before them—for example, a judge who handles bankruptcy cases and a lawyer who practices only criminal law—there usually is no problem. An issue arises when there is, or appears to be, a conflict of interest or an appearance of impropriety. A judge cannot date an attorney and at the same time preside over cases in which that attorney appears, because it simply isn’t fair or proper. I once had a case where the judge and opposing counsel were next-door neighbors. We were given the opportunity to ask the judge to recuse himself, but we didn’t believe the neighbor relationship rose to the level of a conflict or an appearance of impropriety.
How would you summarize An Appearance of Impropriety, and why should people read it?
Jayna: On the surface, An Appearance of Impropriety is a romantic legal drama that follows the unfolding of a realistic lawsuit, set against the lives of judges, their staff, and the attorneys who populate a courthouse—along with all the procedures, politics, and tactics of taking a case to trial. At its core, however, the book explores identity: whether one’s career is a noble pursuit that honors God or an idol of self-love. Do we allow others to determine our self-worth based on external things like class, ethnicity, gender, or age? Or do we find our identity in being who and what God called us to be? People should read An Appearance of Impropriety if they enjoy courtroom dramas laced with romance and centered on deeper eternal truths.
What do you hope readers take away from your stories?
Jayna: I hope readers reach the last page feeling they’ve been on a suspenseful ride that ends in a satisfying way. I also hope they take away some life lessons that they find helpful, thought-provoking, and encouraging.
You’re a retired attorney and have over a decade of experience in trust and estate litigation. How does that background show up in your stories or in the way you write?
Jayna: It is important to me that the back-and-forth between lawyers in and out of the courthouse comes across authentically. There is a rhythm and a cadence to it. A tone of voice can lend additional authority to your words or let opposing counsel or a witness know what you actually think about what they just said. It’s hard to convey on paper, but I work at making sure readers feel like they are inside a courtroom listening to lawyers, judges, and witnesses.
Do you have a favorite or most relatable character you’ve written? Why are they your favorite?
Jayna: My favorite character, hands down, is DeMarcus Johnson from The Hunted Heir. DeMarcus also has a cameo in An Appearance of Impropriety. He’s got such a quick sense of humor. He comes across as cocky, but deep inside he’s a pushover. If he were a real person, I think I’d enjoy every moment spending time with him while he cracks jokes, teases people, and never for one moment takes himself seriously.
What is your ideal writing space? Where do you get the most writing done?
Jayna: My ideal writing place and the place where I get the most writing done are unfortunately not the same. In a perfect world, I’d write in a cute coffee shop, the library, or a cozy nook in my house. On rare occasions, I have that luxury. The reality is that two of my books were written at my son’s baseball practices. Some writing happens while I do double duty, walking for exercise. I’ve written while waiting for the dentist. Basically almost anywhere I can squeeze in some words.
In An Appearance of Impropriety, Judge Mahalia Jackson has a rule for herself that she must never date a lawyer. How do conventions like that hold up in the legal world? Is it frowned upon?
Jayna: If a judge is dating a lawyer who will never appear before them—for example, a judge who handles bankruptcy cases and a lawyer who practices only criminal law—there usually is no problem. An issue arises when there is, or appears to be, a conflict of interest or an appearance of impropriety. A judge cannot date an attorney and at the same time preside over cases in which that attorney appears, because it simply isn’t fair or proper. I once had a case where the judge and opposing counsel were next-door neighbors. We were given the opportunity to ask the judge to recuse himself, but we didn’t believe the neighbor relationship rose to the level of a conflict or an appearance of impropriety.
How would you summarize An Appearance of Impropriety, and why should people read it?
Jayna: On the surface, An Appearance of Impropriety is a romantic legal drama that follows the unfolding of a realistic lawsuit, set against the lives of judges, their staff, and the attorneys who populate a courthouse—along with all the procedures, politics, and tactics of taking a case to trial. At its core, however, the book explores identity: whether one’s career is a noble pursuit that honors God or an idol of self-love. Do we allow others to determine our self-worth based on external things like class, ethnicity, gender, or age? Or do we find our identity in being who and what God called us to be? People should read An Appearance of Impropriety if they enjoy courtroom dramas laced with romance and centered on deeper eternal truths.
What do you hope readers take away from your stories?
Jayna: I hope readers reach the last page feeling they’ve been on a suspenseful ride that ends in a satisfying way. I also hope they take away some life lessons that they find helpful, thought-provoking, and encouraging.
As the youngest female judge in Los Angeles, Mahalia Jackson has her career on a fast track to success. Her polished exterior makes sure of that. But when she volunteers for the Junior Jurors and ends up working side by side with attorney JD Cash, her plans begin to falter.
JD heads up the program—born out of his own troubled past—where local teens learn about the legal system. He leverages his position as an attorney to fulfill God's calling on his life: to support the orphans and widows of society who have lost beloved fathers and husbands to TransNation's eighteen-wheeled time bombs roaming America's freeways.
Mahalia's rule—never date a lawyer—is a straitjacket that tightens when she presides over the case where JD serves as a young widow's attorney. Her increasing proximity to the empathetic lawyer sparks an onslaught from anonymous online adversaries attempting to destroy Mahalia's reputation and career by throwing around claims of an appearance of impropriety. The digital disgrace pushes Mahalia to ask one hard question: Is loving JD worth risking her career?
JD heads up the program—born out of his own troubled past—where local teens learn about the legal system. He leverages his position as an attorney to fulfill God's calling on his life: to support the orphans and widows of society who have lost beloved fathers and husbands to TransNation's eighteen-wheeled time bombs roaming America's freeways.
Mahalia's rule—never date a lawyer—is a straitjacket that tightens when she presides over the case where JD serves as a young widow's attorney. Her increasing proximity to the empathetic lawyer sparks an onslaught from anonymous online adversaries attempting to destroy Mahalia's reputation and career by throwing around claims of an appearance of impropriety. The digital disgrace pushes Mahalia to ask one hard question: Is loving JD worth risking her career?
