Local lawyer publishes crime book
It takes good facts to make good fiction.
That’s why Bigfork attorney and novelist Leslie Budewitz decided to share her knowledge of the legal system with other members of the mystery writing community.
Budewitz, who has penned several fictional works since beginning her career as an author about 10 years ago, recently published her first nonfiction book: “Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure.”
The book is meant to be a resource for writers who are not familiar with the nuances of the legal system.
“I don’t expect others to know what I know about the law,” Budewitz said. “But there are certain things that do make a difference and do need to be right.”
According to Budewitz, missing an important detail can throw off an entire story because it severs the connection to the real world, making the plot and the characters less believable.
“If something is wrong, you don’t go where the writer wants you to go, and the book is a failure,” Budewitz said. “If a mistake breaks that fragile hold a story has on you, you’re not hooked and you’re not going to continue reading.”
After fielding legal questions from other mystery writers for years, Budewitz came up with the idea of compiling her advice in a how-to guide format.
She followed the model of a similar book written by a doctor that addressed factual accuracy in fictional medical settings.
Budewitz’s book is organized in a question-and-answer format, with various sidebars containing additional information.
“A lot of the questions came directly from other writers, and others were prompted by mistakes I’ve seen over the years,” Budewitz said.
Last month, Budewitz had the opportunity to share her knowledge with other members of the international mystery writing community at the 2011 Boucheron World Mystery Convention in St. Louis, where she served as a moderator for a discussion panel on crime and forensics.
The panel was comprised of several experts in law and forensics, including Jan Burke — the author of “Disturbance” and “Bones” and founder of the Crime Lab Project — and Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor on the O.J. Simpson murder trial and author of the mystery novel “Guilt by Association.”
“The people were really smart, and they were experts in their fields,” Budewitz said. “We had a great discussion about why it matters to get the facts right.”
Budewitz, who works as a part-time attorney for Wold Law Firm in Polson, feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to follow her passion for writing — something, she said, not many people get to do.
She knows that her background in law has given her an edge as a mystery writer, and she sincerely wants to help other writers interested in the field to gain an edge too.
“I just want to help them get it right,” she said.