Larry D. Thompson was first a trial
lawyer. He tried more than 300 cases throughout Texas, winning in excess of 95% of them.
When his youngest son graduated from college, he decided to write his first
novel. Since his mother was an English teacher and his brother, Thomas
Thompson, had been a best-selling author, it seemed the natural thing to do.
Larry
writes about what he knows best…lawyers, courtrooms and trials. The legal
thriller is his genre. DARK
MONEY is his fifth story and the second in the Jack Bryant series.
Larry and his wife, Vicki, call Houston home and spend their summers on a
mountain top in Vail, Colorado. He has two daughters, two sons and four grandchildren.
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Can you tell us what your book is about?
DARK MONEY is a thriller, a mystery and
an expose’ of the corruption of money in politics.
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 fund raiser 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 fund raiser 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.
Why did you write your book?
All of my novels are legal thrillers and all have some
underlying social issue as a part of the theme. As a lawyer I have been
dismayed since the Supreme Court wrote the Citizens United opinion. So, I
decided to weave a thriller around the corruption of money in politics.
What kind of message is your book trying to tell your
readers?
The citizens of this country must wake up to the fact that
our elections are being hijacked by the ultra-rich, both Republican and
Democrat. If the trend continues, our votes will become meaningless.
Who influenced you to write your book?
No one. I read and listen to what is going on in the world
and eventually come up with a kernel of an idea. Then, I let my mind wander as
I write the outline of the story.
Is it hard to publish a nonfiction book?
While my book is fiction, often non-fiction is much easier
to publish. In fact, my next book will be non-fiction.
Which author(s) do you admire?
My late brother, Thomas Thompson, Michael Connally, David
Morrell. The list could go on and on.
Have you suffered
from writer’s block and what do you do to get back on track?
I rarely suffer from
writer’s block. If I have prepared a good outline, the words seem to flow from
there.
What would you do
with an extra hour today if you could do anything you wanted?
I would spend that
hour reading my current favorite novel.
Which holiday is your
favorite and why?
Fourth of July. My
wife and I spend summers in Vail and they do the holiday right. In the morning
there is an old-fashioned parade through the main street of the village,
complete with kids on tricycles and fire trucks. In the afternoon there is a
patriotic concert at the Gerald Ford amphitheater. We follow it with a barbecue
for friends and family at the house and then watch a spectacular fireworks show
eight thousand feet below us in the valley. It all makes one proud to be and
American.
If we were to meet
for lunch to talk books, where would we go?
Houston has great Tex-Mex. I’d pick one to talk over
enchiladas and margaritas.
What do you like to
do for fun?
Play golf, go to
movies, read a ton of books, spend time with my wife and my family.
Can you tell us about
your family?
I’m married to
Vicki, for now nearly 20 years. My children are grown and scattered. I have a
daughter and two granddaughters in Austin, a son with a grandson and
granddaughter in Boca Raton and a son in Vail.
What do you like the
most about being an author?
When I have written
the last word, I can proudly say that I created something that did not exist
before, something that will probably outlive me.
What kind of advice
would you give other non-fiction authors?
Try to make your
non-fiction read like fiction. For examples read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
or Blood and Money by Thomas Thompson