Keeping It Real

In the front of The Da Vinci code, Dan BrownÍs runaway bestseller, is a note telling readers that all of the descriptions of architectural details and religious practices are accurate. Although there is substantial debate about whether the religious conclusions are true (in fact they may be quite false), the important point is that the book contains enough authentic detail and is supported by enough research that much of it sounds true. They are actually holding classes to discuss the factual basis of a work of fiction. That is a remarkable development. Ridley Pearson, the well-known mystery writer, is another author who has long had an eye for authentic detail, and as a result many cops read his cop stories. Meticulous research made The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer a huge success. Authenticity is nothing new to Clive Cussler who made his way as a novelist doing research on famous shipwrecks and using those tragedies to provide a historical basis for his story. Brown, Pearson, and Cussler are pointing the direction for many authors who are now hitting the research harder and striving to bring a deep sense of realism to their stories.

This growing trend toward authenticity has affected my writing. All my books have settings that I know well from personal experience, and I strive to make the descriptions accurate. The same is true for much of the science. For Unacceptable Risk, coming out in August, I traveled to the Amazon jungle so I could picture the place more vividly as I put the setting into words. On a recent trip to the San Juan Islands (located between Washington and British Columbia),the setting for my current manuscript, my wife often poked fun at me as I pulled out a notebook to jot down the length of a pier, what I could see from a particular vantage point, descriptions of the university laboratory, and the like. Most readers won't know if I get a detail wrong, but I think they can tell when an author gets them right. The story is always that much more convincing.

Of course, I have been known to bend the truth a bit, but most of my inventions are based on fact. Tidal conditions similar to the Devil's Gate in Overfall do exist but there isnÍt a place with that name. The other overfalls that are mentioned in the story, such as Skookumchuck, are real and do have the current speeds indicated. I got the idea from an actual wave that I slammed through on an 85-foot research vessel. The skippers face, before we hit the monster, reminded me of a hypochondriac who has just found a new red bump. The wave actually loosened the superstructure of the boat.

I also try to make the science in my books as real as possible. Most of the inventions and discoveries I describe are almost within reach. I have a growing circle of research scientist friends whose brains I pick to keep my plots on the frontiers of technology.

I feel exhilaration at the prospect of building authenticity through solid research. For me, that is nearly as interesting as writing, and I hope my readers can sense reality oozing from every page.

                          „David Dun

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