Author Guest Post
LARRY D. THOMPSON’S BLOG
I started
writing novels about ten or twelve years ago, but I had been a reader of
fiction for fifty years before that. When I began writing, I knew I wanted
action and dialogue with plenty of room for the reader to use his or her
imagination. I called my style “Old Time Radio Drama Writing.” If you ever
listened to The Lone Ranger, The Green
Hornet, Sky King, Fibber McGee and Molly or Amos and Andy, just to name a few, you know what I’m talking about.
If a door slammed, you knew that someone was entering or,
maybe leaving. If it creaked, you guessed something ominous was about to
happen. Horses’ hoofs could grow louder or softer, depending on whether the
rider was coming or going. The sound of a propeller meant Sky King was about to
land or take off. And when the listener heard Molly shout, “Fibber, don’t open
that door!” you knew the sound of a closet packed full of junk was about to
erupt. The listener heard these sounds and the dialogue and had the privilege
of filling in the description of the characters, how they moved, how they
reacted to one another with nothing more than imagination. I might have
pictured a bad guy drawing down on The Lone Ranger as short and squatty with a
four day beard, and even smelling as if he needed to take a bath. My brother could
picture him in a suit and string tie with a devilish moustache. Each to his
own. But we knew that when he drew on The Lone Ranger, his days on earth were
numbered.
So, when I
began to write, I wanted the reader to know my characters by what they said and
did. Let them use their imagination. For example, in THE INSANITY PLEA, my
protagonist, Wayne Little is six feet, four inches with black hair and gray
eyes. That’s all the reader knows until he talks and reacts to events. His best
friend is Duke Romack, a criminal lawyer who was at one time an NBA forward.
Again, the reader has the pleasure of filling in a description. In fact, while
the reader would know he is tall since he was a forward and might assume he’s
black, that is not even clear until Wayne and Duke have good-natured exchanges
about their races (“Wayne, ain’t I your black brother?”).
That’s how I
chose to write and still do to this day. What I didn’t know was that Elmore
Leonard, the great writer of Westerns and crime novels had summarized this
style in his “Ten Rules of Writing.” I suppose that I had read a couple of
Leonard’s books over the years, but I couldn’t have named them. Then I stumbled
across his rules. I could have memorized them, but intuitively I already knew
them by heart, except for maybe the last one (which I will explain shortly) What
follows are a few of his rules and my commentary:
Never open a book with the weather. Certainly, I agree with that. As
Leonard says, the reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people. In fact, I
would carry that rule a little further. Why even bother to talk about the
weather unless it impacts on what the characters are doing?
Avoid prologues. I disagree with this one. I have
used prologues in several of my stories. In my current one, DARK MONEY, I open
with a prologue from twenty years before the present to show how Jack Bryant
and Walt Frazier met and bonded for life. I also had a prologue in THE INSANITY
PLEA. In retrospect, I could just as easily called it Chapter One.
Never use a verb other than “said” to
carry dialogue.
Leonard’s advice is that said is far less intrusive than grumbled, cautioned,
gasped or lied. I agree, although I reserve the right to use different verbs to
carry dialogue from time to time.
Never use and adverb to modify the
verb “said.” I
couldn’t agree more.
Keep your exclamation points under
control. Leonard
says no more than two or three per 100,000 words. I generally agree, but I
might stretch is to four or five.
Avoid detailed descriptions of
characters. Leonard
uses Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” and asks what do the “American
and the girl with him” look like? “She had taken off her hat and put it on the
table.” That’s the only reference to a physical description in the story and
yet we see the couple and know them by their tones of voice, with not one
adverb in sight. My hat is off to Elmore.
Don’t go into great detail describing
places and things.
Personally, I don’t want to waste time to read about a character entering a
room, and there are paragraphs describing the carpet, the chairs and desk, the
photos and diplomas on the walls and the doodads on the desk. I would just
write, “It was a tastefully done home office.” The reader can fill in the
blanks.
Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. This one is my favorite. Leonard
says that readers will skip thick paragraphs of prose when the reader can see
that they have too many words in them. He continues, “What the writer is doing,
he’s writing, perpetrating the hooptedoodle, perhaps taking another shot at the
weather, or has gone into the character’s head, and the reader either knows
what the guy’s thinking or doesn’t care. I’ll bet you don’t skip dialogue.”
And Leonard’s summation is equally as important: “If it sounds like writing, I
rewrite it.”
I never met you, Elmore, but thanks
for your words of wisdom. They make me a far better writer.
About The Author
Author Website
Goodreads
Book Review
Dark Money by Larry D. Thompson
Book 2: A Jackson Bryant Legal Thriller Series
Publisher: Story Merchant Books
Publication Date: December 8, 2015
Format: Paperback - 430 pages
Kindle - 1088 KB
ISBN: 978-0996990806
ASIN: B008VA736K
Genre: Legal Thriller / Mystery / Suspense
Buy The Book:
Buy The Series: A Jackson Bryant Legal Thriller Series
Book 1: Dead Peasants
Book 2: Dark Money
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.
Book Description:
Jackson Bryant, the millionaire plaintiff lawyer who turned to pro bono work in Dead Peasants, is caught up in the collision of money and politics when he receives a call from his old army buddy Walt Frazier. Walt needs his assistance in evaluating security for Texas Governor Rob Lardner at a Halloween costume fundraiser thrown by one of the nation's richest Republican billionaires at his mansion in Fort Worth.
Miriam Van Zandt is the best marksman among The Alamo Defenders, an anti-government militia group in West Texas. She attends the fundraiser dressed as a cat burglar--wounds the governor and murders the host's brother, another Republican billionaire. She is shot in the leg but manages to escape.
Jack is appointed special prosecutor and must call on the Texas DPS SWAT team to track Van Zandt and attack The Alamo Defenders' compound in a lonely part of West Texas. Van Zandt's father, founder of the Defenders, is killed in the attack and Miriam is left in a coma. The authorities declare victory and close the case-but Jack knows better. The person behind the Halloween massacre has yet to be caught. When Walt and the protective detail are sued by the fundraiser host and the widow of the dead man, Jack follows the dark money of political contributions from the Cayman Islands to Washington to Eastern Europe, New York and New Orleans to track the real killer and absolve his friend and the Protective Detail of responsibility for the massacre.
Dark Money is a thriller, a mystery and an expose of the corruption of money in politics caused by the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United.
Book Excerpt:
The convoy of three troop trucks made its way through the northeastern part of Saudi Arabia on their way to join up with other American troops in Dhahran. Jack Bryant, a lawyer from Texas who was called up from his practice in Beaumont, was riding shotgun in the front truck. He was a sergeant and the senior NCO in the convoy. They passed through several villages deserted or nearly so out of fear of the rapidly moving Iraq army. The convoy approached another village, apparently abandoned, when Jack raised his hand.
“Stop. I saw a glint of metal in a balcony about a hundred yards ahead on the right, and then it disappeared. I’m getting out my side and will use the door as a shield. Open your door as quietly as possible. Go back to the men and tell them to maintain complete silence. I don’t even want to hear the click of a cigarette lighter until I signal.”
Seconds turned into minutes. Jack continued to focus on the balcony. After twenty minutes the driver was thinking that his sergeant must have been imagining something when a head slowly surfaced above the wall on the balcony. Jack waited until he could see the mouth and fired one round, striking the Iraq sniper directly between the eyes. The enemy soldier dropped from sight.
Bryant climbed back into his seat and told his driver they could now move out.
“You sure, Sarge? Could be you only wounded him.”
“Trust me. I don’t miss from this distance. He’s dead. Let’s get going. I hope we’ll still have a little light when we get to the barracks.”
“Stop. I saw a glint of metal in a balcony about a hundred yards ahead on the right, and then it disappeared. I’m getting out my side and will use the door as a shield. Open your door as quietly as possible. Go back to the men and tell them to maintain complete silence. I don’t even want to hear the click of a cigarette lighter until I signal.”
Seconds turned into minutes. Jack continued to focus on the balcony. After twenty minutes the driver was thinking that his sergeant must have been imagining something when a head slowly surfaced above the wall on the balcony. Jack waited until he could see the mouth and fired one round, striking the Iraq sniper directly between the eyes. The enemy soldier dropped from sight.
Bryant climbed back into his seat and told his driver they could now move out.
“You sure, Sarge? Could be you only wounded him.”
“Trust me. I don’t miss from this distance. He’s dead. Let’s get going. I hope we’ll still have a little light when we get to the barracks.”
My Book Review:
After a successful career as a trial attorney, Jack Bryant retires to his hometown of Fort Worth and opens up a pro bono practice out of a motorhome. He expects to help poor people with their legal issues, but nothing prepares him for what happens when The Alamo Defenders, a West Texas anti-government militia group wages a murderous attack at a Halloween themed political fundraiser event. Jack's ensuing investigation exposes the wide corruption of money in politics that will put Jack in a great deal of danger.
Dark Money is a riveting legal thriller that will captivate the reader from the start, and keep them sitting on the edge of their seat until the surprising conclusion. Author Larry D. Thompson utilizes his extensive professional experience as a trial attorney to weave a gritty tale written in the third person narrative that follows attorney Jack Bryant when he is appointed special prosecutor after a deadly attack at a political fundraising event by a West Texas anti-government militia group opens up a huge can of worms as he investigates and uncovers the accumulation of "dark money" (large political donations set up in a special fund governed under Section 501 (c) (4) of the Revenue Code via the US Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, while exposing the widespread corruption in politics.
This fast paced, action filled legal thriller easily engages the reader with a mixture of murder plots, investigative twists and turns, suspense and riveting courtroom drama. In reading Dark Money, the reader is transported into the middle of this gripping tale where they will learn about chilling true-to-life corruption in politics that is simply mind-numbing and will give them goosebumps.
With an intriguing cast of characters; witty dialogue; dramatic interactions; and a complex storyline that has just enough courtroom drama to satisfy legal eagles, while providing plenty of corruption, politics, murder and mystery that will easily keep the reader in suspense until the final piece of the puzzle clicks into place in a surprising ending; Dark Money is a thoroughly powerful, compelling, and chilling legal thriller that you won't be able to put down!
RATING: 5 STARS
Contest Giveaway
Win A $15 Amazon Gift Card
There is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours for Larry D. Thompson. There will be 1 winner of 1 $15 Amazon.com US Gift card. The giveaway begins on Jan 24 and runs through Feb 29, 2016.
Virtual Book Tour Event
Tour Schedule:
1/26 - Brooke Blogs - Guest Post
1/26 - Writers and Authors - Interview
1/26 - Book Reviews From an Avid Reader - Review
1/27 - The Book Diva's Reads - Showcase
1/31 - Mythical Books - Interview & Showcase
2/3 - Romance Under Fire - Review
2/3 - Kim's Bookish Place - Review
2/4 - 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & sissy, Too! - Review
2/8 - FictionZeal - Showcase
2/13 - Hott Books - Interview
2/15 - Mystery Susupense Reviews - Guest Post
2/16 - Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - Review
2/29 - Jersey Girl Book Reviews - Guest Post & Review
