At social gatherings and parties, whenever Marsha Brandsdorfer told people she worked for attorneys, it generated interest. She had no shortage of tales to tell. Her experiences would be interesting, sad, strange and sometimes humorous. Marsha found that others, even those not in the legal field, were able to relate to some of her experiences.

Ms. Brandsdorfer decided she would memorialize her experiences as a book, and thus, The Accidental Secretary came about. The words poured out of Ms. Brandsdorfer as she recalled her working life. She went through several notebooks as she wrote in the mornings before work, during her lunch breaks, after work, and in the middle of the night. She typed her words into her computer. And then came the hard part, the revisions. A friend who was an attorney, and a friend's husband who was not in the legal field each read an early draft, so she could get feedback. Marsha also sought a written critique from a published novelist. She wrote and rewrote, and then the book went through copyediting. But Ms. Brandsdorfer says despite all the time and effort, she would do it all over again.

Ms. Brandsdorfer felt that there was a parallel with her life experiences and writing about them. As in her life and in her writing, there have been conflicts she had to overcome, friendships she made, and survival and growth.

The author continues to write for local club newsletters and other sources, and plans perhaps another book in the future - maybe about lawyers, and then again, maybe not.