Richard Burton (pictured) has written a fiction novel called “Godsent” that will be released Oct. 16.
Burton is an in-house attorney with Landmark Management Group in Plano, focusing on commercial litigation and corporate law. He formerly was an attorney with Bickel & Brewer. He says he wrote the book more than two and a half years while also practicing law.
“I always had a goal of writing a fiction book, and creative writing has always been a passion of mine,” Burton says.
While Burton says he has always enjoyed creative writing, this is the first piece of fiction he has had published.
“I’ve done little short stories; none of them were published,” he says. “I started a book before but never finished it.”
“My goal was always to write a complete novel,” Burton says, describing writing as “half hobby, half strong goal.”
The book is a thriller about the Son of God coming to earth in the modern time, Burton says. How did he come up with the idea?
“There was this CNN news report I was watching where, somewhere in the Midwest at a diner, a piece of toast popped up, and everyone thought it showed the Virgin Mary,” Burton says. “They put it in the window, and people from all over came to stand in front of it.”
“It struck me that people would come to a diner,” he says. “So, I thought, what would happen if people really believed the Son of God was on earth again? With travel now, there would be worldwide pandemonium. The book stemmed from that news report: people flocking to see a piece of toast.”
Although the book isn’t officially released until Oct. 16, Burton says readers have enjoyed it.
“A lot of people have read it already, and I’ve gotten great feedback,” Burton says. “It has great reviews already, and my publisher has been very happy so far. I’m very happy with the response and reviews.”
Despite this early success, Burton says he won’t be quitting his day job. “I’ve pretty much always wanted to be a lawyer,” he says. “I’ve been the general counsel of a company for several years. I’m still in a general counsel role, and I have no intention of leaving my position.”
Burton says his job fits in with his desire to write creatively. “I’m a commercial litigator. There is a lot of writing. There is heavy briefing where you always tell a story about a client’s position,” he says.
Although Burton doesn’t plan to stop being a lawyer, he does plan to continue writing fiction. He says, “I do love writing, and I’m working on a follow-up to ‘Godsent.’ ”
-- Christine Lesicko
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