Larry D. Thompson

NEW NOVEL STATUS

Larry — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 22:48:55 +0000

Okay, so I failed. I intended to blog every day that I wrote. Well, I haven’t actually failed that badly. The problem was that I haven’t written much for two weeks. Two weeks ago my day job grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. Then last weekend I hit a fork in the road. Not writer’s block, but I was uncertain if I was going in he right direction with this new story. So, I sent the first thrity pages to a few friends and family. Fortunately, they all agreed that I was on the right track. So betwen depositions and mediations I managed to clean up some of the prior prose and write a few hundred pages. It’s now Sunday and I’ve written four or five hours each day. Good stuff, I think. I’ll read it again in the morning before I go to work to evaluate, make initial corrections and changes, etc. Now, I’m up to 14,000 words. That’s pretty good, considering that my publisher likes novels of around 90,000 words. So, I’m one-sixth of the way there, in rough draft form, obviously. Now, though, I’m pretty comfortable that I can finish the draft in early June, giving me three or four months to edit and revise. So, in summary, I came to a fork in the road and had to evaluate which road to take. Unlike the famous words of Yogi (I didn’t put in his last name because I couldn’t remember the correct spelling), I couldn’t just get to a fork and take it.

WRITER’S TIP: Edit as you write. Each time you sit down at the computer, review what you have written the day before and start the editing process. Just a day or two between writing and editing puts what you have written in a completely different light.

DAY THREE

Larry — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:59:40 +0000

My day job has interfered with my wiritng this week. However, I managed to get a couple of more pages written today and revised some of the earlier ones. I promised Carla Neggers that I would read her latest romance novel. I have never in my life read a romance novel, but this one is good, and it’s going to improve my writing. Carla gets into the heads of her main characters. I realized that helps to explain motivation. Now, I hate writers who spend three pages describing what a character thought about something that just happened or thinks about something that is happening. That is the extreme and is boring. However, I’m learning the value of two or three paragraphs that let the reader understand more about the protagonist or other character, and that helps flesh out the story. So expect to see more of that in this one.

Now Vicki and I are off to a lawyer’s conference in Scottsdale. It’s a combination of seminar, networking and partying…a lot of fun. So, not much writing for the next few days. I’ll try to make it up next week.

BLOOD DECISION DAY TWO

Larry — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:54:13 +0000

Day one started a little slow. Vicki and I decided to go out to breakfast. In the afternoon we went to a naturefest and saw a movie in the evening. So, I only wrote three and a half pages. But that’s okay. Just like every journey starts with that first step, a novel starts with that first word followed by a sentence. Yesterday I got past the inertia and finally ran out of excuses. So it began.

Today has been excellent. I wrote another eleven pages in about five hours and have just now called it quits for the day. Something my brother said many years ago has always stuck with me. He said it’s really hard to be creative for more than four or five hours. I, too, have found that to be true. Even on weekends when I have more time (provided I’m not in trial), I say enough after five hours, just like Tommy used to do.

WRITER’S TIP: (I just decided to throw these into this blog from time to time). Once you’ve written for four or five hours, reward youself with tennis or going to the driving range or a walk in the sun, maybe even reading some other author’s really good book You’ve earned it and there’s always tomorrow.

Speaking of good books, I started Jeff Parker’s THE JAGUAR two days ago and am thoroughlly enjoying it. I’ll try to say more about it when I’m finished. As great an author as he is (Three Edgar awards…Wow!), I’d never considered reading his books until he and my friend John Lescroart did a joint book signing at Murder By The Book here in Houston a few weeks back. My guess is I’ll be reading more of his stuff. Stay tuned.

TIME TO START WRITING A NEW NOVEL

Larry — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 15:15:26 +0000

It’s time. I submitted my last one to St. Martin’s in October, to be published this fall. I’ve completed my research for the new one and I’m ready to write. Pub date on this one will be fall, 2013, which means that I must have the final manuscript to St. Martin’s in about seven months. It will be close since I am still a full time trial lawyer and Vicki and I have a couple of vacations planned, but I’ll make it.

This time I am going to blog about the experience of writing a novel, the highs and lows, days with writer’s block (hopefully not too many of those), progress of the book. I know the story very well and even have the title. Unfortunately, I can’t divulge either. Maybe along the way I’ll drop a few hints. I can tell you it has lawyers, doctors, and a trial. For those of you who have read my previous novels, that’s not a shock.

Anyway, today is Day 1. I’ll try to post something several days a week. Stay tuned.

Larry

MURDER ONE by Robert Dugoni

Larry — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:29:17 +0000

My friend and fellow attorney/author has his next legal thriller being published on June 7. Like me, Bob was a trial lawyer before he turned to writing. I’ve read several of his novels and find them all with hairpin, twisting plots and well-drawn courtroom scenes. I haven’t read this one yet (but I have ordered it on Kindle}. However, I think I can guarantee that if you liked THE TRIAL, you’ll like MURDER ONE. After I read it, I’ll post more.

NEW AVANDIA WARNING

Larry — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:52:38 +0000

In writing THE TRIAL, I fictionalized findings on several real life drugs. One was Avandia. Late last summer the FDA finally conceded that it may have led to heart attacks in 40,000 plus diabetics. Just today I received an alert from the FDA: AVANDIA is now believed to have caused over 83,000 heart attacks from 1999 to 2007. And remember that Avandia stayed on the market through the fall of 2011 when the FDA permitted GlaxoSmithKline to keep it on the market, but with a “black box” warning. The United States is the only country in the world where drug regulators allowed GSK to keep it on the market. Note that the quoted statistics are only through 2007. I presume the heart attacks for the last four years are still being counted.

Drug Injury Watch Press Release touts The Trial

Larry — Tue, 24 May 2011 13:43:03 +0000

Drug Injury Watch

May 23, 2011 Monday 5:45 PM EST

Two New Books About Drug Injury Lawsuits, “All The Justice Money Can Buy” and “The Trial”

BYLINE: Tom Lamb

LENGTH: 630 words

May 23, 2011 (Drug Injury Watch delivered by Newstex) —
First Covers One Of The Early Vioxx Cases, Second Is Legal Thriller Fiction With Parallels To Ketek Fiasco

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)As the summer reading season draws near, we take a break from our usual reporting to let you know about two new books which provide insights to the world of pharmaceutical drug litigation concerning serious side effects, commonly referred to as drug injury law.

The first new book, which comes out June 7, 2011, is “All the Justice Money Can Buy — Corporate Greed on Trial”, by Snigdha Prakash, an investigative journalist who was a reporter for NPR from 1998 to 2007 where she developed a deep knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry and product liability litigation.

Here is part of the publisher’s description (accessed 5/23/11) of this non-fiction work about the Vioxx debacle:

All the Justice Money Can Buy is the true-life story of a courtroom showdown between the man many consider the best trial lawyer of his generation and one of the nations richest and most-respected corporations.

Journalist Snigdha Prakash is embedded with the plaintiffs team for the seven-week trial, and takes us into the trenches of the tough”and dirty”battle between corporate interests and the individual that plays out in the courts. From early mornings when Lanier works in his hotel suite, to the daily post-mortems after court, and late nights in the plaintiffs oewar room, Prakash shadows Lanier and his team.

With its birds-eye view of the strategic thinking and meticulous planning that undergird Laniers seemingly unrehearsed performances in court, and of the well-oiled machine of lawyers and assistants that backs his every move, All the Justice Money Can Buy is a fast-paced, often funny journey behind the front-lines of a high-stakes, 21st century legal trial. Along the way, Prakash renders a piercing portrait of the challenges that await those who would take on corporate interests.

Part corporate expose´ and part legal thriller, All the Justice Money Can Buy is a gripping”and topical”read for our scandal-plagued times.

The second book, oeThe Trial, by Texas attorney Larry D. Thompson, raises serious issues about the pharmaceutical industry’s conduct and the FDAs drug safety oversight. Released in March 2011, this work of fiction will bring to mind the Ketek fiasco, for those familiar with that hard-to-believe real life story.

Here is what the Literary Guild had to say about “The Trial”:

A pharmaceutical giants disregard for human life spurs to action a small-town lawyer in Larry D. Thompsons stunning courtroom drama, The Trial. Luke Vaughns rage stems from the fact that, unbeknownst to him, his daughter, a rebellious teenager, volunteered for a clinical drug trial thats left her in desperate need of a liver transplant”and he cant afford it. So Luke decides to make the culprits pay, and he chooses to do so in the venue he knows best¦the courtroom. When Luke discovers what he suspected all along”that the drug company and the FDA knew the pill carried potentially lethal side effects”he thinks the case is won. But his adversarys prescription for silencing the opposition calls for bribery, kidnapping¦and murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the “The Trial”, and I look forward to reading “All The Justice Money Can Buy”, soon.

Depending on your preference, fiction or investigative reporting, you will certainly get some insights on the world of drug injury litigation from reading either one of these new books.

______________________________________________________________________________

DrugInjuryLaw.com: Legal Information And News About Prescription Drug Side Effects

Drug Injury Case Evaluation – Free & Confidential

Newstex ID: DRIW-5347-104283979

LOAD-DATE: May 23, 2011

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

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PUBLICATION-TYPE: Web Blog

The Trial Update

Larry — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:51:14 +0000

Well, I admit I’ve been busy the past few weeks. So, forgive me for not posting here. The book is launched and I’m signing at stores around Texas. I’ve received rave reviews from readers and critics (except for one old sorehead from Putlisher’s Weekly). Here’s one that just came to the website last night that I particularly like: “I have never written the author of a book I read before, so at 83 years of age, this is a first for me. I just finished reading The Trial and I can honestly say I have never read a more griping book–I literally could not put it down, reading until my old eyes lost their focus. Please write another book soon. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your skill in building an exciting plot and thank you.

Now, if that doesn’t get my creative juices flowing, nothing will, and I’m already well into my next story, to be published by St. Martin’s next year.

And a favor. If you like my book, please go onto Amazon and review it. A couple of sentences will do and it’ll tke about five minutes. I prefer five stars, but rate it as you see fit. Thanks.

Larry

>>>Skype Book Club Visit – Great Fun!

Larry — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:08:58 +0000

Springlakes Book Club in Augusta, Georgia was one of the winning clubs in the Bookmovement.com drawing for signed ARC’s of The Trial. I invited the club to allow me to join their meeting about The Trial via Skype. This past Monday evening we had a smooth connection and a wonderfully interactive visit for over an hour. The questions about the book, the format, the story line, writing and the backstory were inciteful. It was a joy for me to be included. Thank-you ladies!

Skype makes reading group appearances at great distances possible. The size of the group is not an issue. It just takes an internet connection and a computer with a camera and microphone (nearly all notebook computers come already equiped). Add The Trial to your reading group’s agenda and contact me to set up a Skype visit. ldt@larrydthompson.com

Why did I write The Trial?

Larry — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:38:37 +0000

Why did I write a novel about the prescription drug industry? Actually it’s a story about a father trying to save the life of his daughter who volunteered for a clinical trial of a bad drug. He sues the drug company, knowing that if he fails, she will die.

Still, there is an important message about the big drug companies in this country. No other industry impacts on our lives on a daily basis like the pharmaceutical companies. Whether young, old, male or female, the chances are you take a drug regularly. For many of us whether we live or die may be dependent on prescription drugs. Yet the drug companies are continually in the news for the wrong reasons. Far too often in their quest for bigger and bigger profits, they cut corners and put drugs on the market that, tragically, lead to death.

I want to you enjoy THE TRIAL as a first rate, page turning legal thriller. And just maybe, when you’ve finished it, you’ll go to your medicine cabinet and take a careful look at your drugs. Later on this blog, we’ll talk more about the drug industry and discuss a few ways you can check out your own drugs.