Blockbuster author Patricia Cornwell is basing her new book around a real-life legal battle with her financial advisors.

The American crime writer won a $51 million (£32 million) settlement on Tuesday (19Feb13) after suing bosses at New York-based company Anchin, Block & Anchin for mismanaging her money.

Cornwell, best known for her books about fictional medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, has now revealed she is working on a new literary project called Dust, and she is using the real-life courtroom drama as inspiration.

She says, "I would dare say that there's a very good possibility that in Dust, Scarpetta is going to deal with something grisly that happens to financial people. I think that will happen. I've already been thinking about that as I've been sitting in court every day. That's how I process things. I capitalise on the emotion and use it in my wording. That's how writers deal with a lot of stuff. I'm not sure I'd call it revenge as such. It's just how I deal with things, but there may be a bit of revenge."

The author hopes to publish the book next year (14).