WHAT DO LAWYERS AND AUTHORS HAVE IN COMMON?

While I was preparing my non-fiction trial guide, SEE YOU IN COURT! for publication, it came to me that it was a good reference work for writing fictitious court scenes. It is full of nuances and quirks that could lend credence to a narrative.  And that got me to wondering what, if anything, lawyers and authors have in common. Go to the mystery and thriller section of a bookstore (if you can find one of those) and you will see that a lot of authors are actually lawyers who write novels. I came to the conclusion that there must be something they have in common. But what? Find out by reading the whole article at See You In Court!

ANOTHER READING EVENT

I am pleased to announce that I have been invited to read at InsideStoryTime, April 19, 2012 at the Cafe Royale, 800 Post St. San Francisco. Readings begin at 6:30 p.m.  The subject for the evening will be "Chills and Skills" and that means a Nate Lewis lawyer screw up.

New acclaim and 5 Stars for A Shot In The Arm!

Barry Willdorf's latest in his noir-ish series is a detective story with a sense of geography, a sense of morality, and a sense of humor. Set in San Francisco in the 1970s and written by a lawyer with street cred who lived through those turbulent times, A Shot in the Arm is also a blast to read. Just add java. --Frances Lefkowitz author of TO HAVE NOT,

Frances's To Have Not is a really great book. I highly recommend it.  She's an exceptional writer and observer.

And also, to my surprise, because I haven't a clue how she go her hands on this book: Arlena Dean

"A Shot in the Arm" by Barry Willdorf was really a good read. It kept me on the edge of my seat through most of the read. Indeed you can tell that Mr. Willdorf that he had some lawyer background due to all details that he gave us on this great ride.

You can read the rest of the 5-STAR REVIEW on Goodreads.

After Reading Part Two: A Verdict!

Barry Willdorf's Seventies trilogy is a brilliant creation! I wasn't able to put the book down. In A Shot in the Arm, Barry Willdorf once more writes up a storm.  Just as in the previous installment, Burning Questions, attorney Nate Lewis bumbles his way into a dark murder plot, but it's the reader who gets hooked. His re-creation of period detail, mood, and state of mind is right on the money, and his characters rock. Willdorf understands the dark side of the law and the dark side of this country. 
Mark Rudd author of Underground: My life in SDS and the Weathermen

A Reviewer from The King's English Bookstore in SLC Wants Book Two!

Burning Questions, Barry Willdorf   (9781611602685) Whiskey Creek Press

Willdorf’s previous novel, Flight of the Sorceress, took the reader back into Roman times.  It was a page-turner of an historic novel.  Burning Questions is another historic novel, but one within the memory of many of its readers.  Willdorf knows the world of the ‘60’s and the setting of Gloucester, MA.  It is a time when a young, inexperienced legal intern can spend his time surfing and drinking rather than working on his upward mobility.  When the local big-shot firm asks him to investigate the supposed suicide of a wealthy young man on behalf of the disbelieving mother, Nate Lewis, sees some easy money, but, in reality may be set up for failure.  Nate’s foray into the world of the rich is balanced by meeting the dead man’s girlfriend, Christina who is beautiful, Portuguese and poor.   Christina and the boyfriend discovered a plan to burn down the town’s old hotels to be replaced by new real estate developments.  Now, Kenny, the boyfriend, is dead and Christina and Nate are in the sights of the arsonist and the local police.  Caught between the wealthy and powerful of the town and the arsonist, the two find themselves in a flight for their lives on a cross-country trip in an aging Plymouth Valiant following the sun to California.  Book 2 of the adventures of Nate and Christina, A Shot in the Arm, comes out this year, and I want to know what happens when they reach the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco in the ‘70’s.  

Wendy Foster Leigh

Burning Questions gets a story in Gloucester Times!

January 19, 2012

A lawyer's Cape Ann thriller

By Gail McCarthy Staff Writer

A 66-year-old former trial lawyer with ties to Cape Ann has published a mystery-thriller novel — one based in Gloucester and infused with its colorful history. 

Barry S. Willdorf, who settled in San Francisco decades ago, titled the first book in his trilogy "Burning Questions," which is set in 1969. That is an era he knows well, having lived here part-time here and having grown up in Malden. 

Willdorf said the novel brims with rich recollections of Gloucester and Cape Ann during the 1950s and '60s. The story recounts the blaze that gutted the Oceanside Hotel, which began a trend that transformed the Magnolia district from an upscale tourist destination to a community of summer homes.

Willdorf used to live in Magnolia across from the old Surf Restaurant, and is old enough to remember the Oceanside Hotel fire in 1957. 

To read the whole article click: http://www.gloucestertimes.com/lifestyle/x1070344323/A-lawyers-Cape-Ann-thriller

Another Great Review for Burning Questions!

Just read Burning Questions last night.  I loved it!  In fact, I woke up around 3 am this morning just to finish it.  Nate's a great character.  I haven't read a murder mystery in awhile, but I used to read them a lot.  I always thought it would be cool to have a detective who blabbed everything to everyone, kept no secrets, just to see what people were going to do.  You created one, and the concept works.  Congratulations! Loved the period details, too, the pay phones, Sunoco station, the food.  Mark Rudd, author of Underground: My life in SDS and the Weathermen