Researching the novel: Making it real and getting it right

In his book ON WRITING, Stephen King said, “Do the research, but don’t overdo it for the reader.” Writers like me should probably take that to heart. But it’s tough, because I love to make things real.

In my last book, LILITH, I wanted the reader to feel like they were there on the USS Gerald R. Ford with me. Being ex-navy, I spent many a day sailing the ocean blue on several different ships, so that experience came in quite handy when it was time to write. I also managed to spend some time aboard a carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, which was pretty awesome. I got to stand right out on the flight deck while the jets were taking off and landing, rattling my bones until I thought they would fracture. The picture below is one I took myself of a navy jet landing in 2010.

For LILITH, I researched several different types of weapons used by Special Forces and CIA, the CIA and its methods, nuclear fission and nuclear power, DNA and genetic mutation, animal tracking, New York City, especially Manhattan Island and its layout, the abandoned New York City subway tunnels, hurricanes and weather patterns, the offices and buildings used by the mayor of New York, the type of security used by the mayor, on and on and on. I used Google maps to see exactly what the parks and buildings looked like at street level and videos to see what the abandoned subway tunnels were like. I even enlisted the help of a retired navy commander to get my facts straight about the USS Gerald Ford, which has yet to be commissioned. 

  

The research itself took a good six months, the writing another six months. In the end, I had to cut 10,000 words out of the book to secure a contract with DarkFuse, most of it having to do with the back story, via the musings of the ship’s chaplain, Commander Crane, of the creature that takes over the ship. But it was worth it, because the back story will be fleshed out in the sequel, PRIMORDIAL, which I am now writing.

For PRIMORDIAL, as with all my other books; DIABLERO (Nightbird Publishing, Oct. 2010), GOD PARTICLE (Crossroad Press, June 2013), and THE BLACK CHURCH (DarkFuse, Dec. 2013), I did most of the research beforehand. Most of the action for PRIMORDIAL will be set on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean, but there are also scenes in Romania, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Sicily, and Washington D.C.

Since I am not an archeologist and have limited knowledge on the subject, I enlisted the help of archeologists and geomorphologists from Boston U. and NC State, and even picked up a book about the basics of archeology, just so I could get the jargon right. I looked at videos of several different dig sites on Crete, researched modern Crete and its ancient Minoan civilization, which figures heavily in the plot, and did more research on the CIA, nuclear radiation, DNA and genetic mutation. And that’s just the basic stuff.

Sometimes it seems like the research will never end. I just want to turn off the computer and say, “Forget it! I’m going fishing!” But even though I make my share of mistakes, I am a stickler for realism, and getting it right. If I say, “He walked through the gate and into the park,” you can be sure that I have either been there, or I looked it up on a recent video or photo and saw a gate in front of that park.

But in spite of all the necessary research, a writer can’t forget the most important element of any story: the human element. But I’ll save that for next time.

Are you a writer? Do you do a lot of research before you write? How do you go about it? Leave me a comment and tell me about it. If you have a question about research, feel free to leave a comment, as well.

For more information on me and my books, find me on the web at www.tobytatestories.com. Thanks for reading!

LILITH released into the world!

Military technology meets mythological terror in LILITH!

It’s a great feeling seeing something that I’ve spent the last couple of years laboring on so intensely, finally being set free into the world. It seems that keeping myself sequestered in a small room in front of a computer monitor for hours on end, living on cashews and coffee, actually paid off! In just the first couple of days, LILITH reached # 27 in war fiction and #64 in horror. Not bad.

My love of the fantastic and weird, coupled with my interest in military black ops, was something I always wanted to get in writing. My background in the Navy provided the perfect experience to draw from since I had worked right next door to a SEAL team and watched how they operated. In the Sea Bees we even had an ex-SEAL as a commander who had us exercising our asses off every morning. Talk about tough.

Though the book has been released, my work as an author is just beginning. In just the last week or so, I’ve written several blog posts, sent out tons of emails, Facebook posts and Tweets, written a post for the International Thriller Writer’s roundtable, done an interview with The Big Thrill and worked on edits for my young adult sci-fi thriller, THE GOD PARTICLE. I’ll also be calling bookstores, doing newspaper and podcast interviews, attending book signings and working on writing the sequel to LILITH, which will be even more thrilling!

One thing I know is I could never do all this alone. My wife and daughter have offered more support than I could ever have asked for, and the people at DarkFuse, especially Shane, Greg and Dave, have been amazing to work with. I couldn’t be happier with how well the book turned out, and judging by the reviews, most people agree.

When you get a chance, check out LILITH in ebook and paperback on Amazon or B&N.com.

You can also get more info on my website.

Thanks for reading!

Writing the supernatural action-thriller

I have always loved reading horror—Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Bentley Little, Edward Lee—I can’t explain it. It just appeals to me. I guess the thought of flawed humans overcoming insurmountable odds and saving the world from some inhuman beast or life-threatening super-organism is just, well…cool. Sure, sometimes the good guy or woman dies at the end, but that’s life. Heroes are willing to pay the ultimate price so that others may live.

One of my other loves in fiction is the thriller, whether it’s politics, crime, military, whatever. Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, James Patterson, Clive Cussler—I love ‘em all.

But for a long time, there seemed to be a lack of novels that really mixed action/adventure and supernatural horror into one story. I wanted something that was creepy, but that also moved along at a good clip and had memorable characters. There were very few novelists that were doing that kind of thing—Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, John Saul, William Meikle and Jeremy Robinson are some names that come to mind.

So I decided that I would try to create stories I would like to read, something that incorporated both supernatural horror and action/adventure. I had written some short stories, but I wanted something that would keep readers enthralled for a few days. My first undertaking was DIABLERO, a story about modern-day voodoo and the resurrection of a three-hundred year old pirate, Blackbeard. 

 

I got some good reviews for that book, sold a few hundred copies with Nightbird Publishing and Crossroad Press. But for my next story, I wanted something even bigger involving the CIA, the military, the supernatural, and some human drama. So I took characters from my first novel, Hunter and Lisa Singleton, and put them into my new book.

LILITH is a supernatural creature who takes possession of the crew of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, and is then set free in the streets of Manhattan after it gets demolished by a huge storm. It was a very fun book to write.

My next novel, tentatively titled PRIMORDIAL, will be on an even bigger scale, believe it or not. Did I tell you I want my stakes to be high? Even the young adult sci-fi novel I’m working on is high-octane. Can I help it if I like things to move along at a good clip? And guns? And explosions? And…and…oh, sorry. I get carried away. But you get the picture.

I tried writing “literary” horror. Yeah, that didn’t work out. I kept falling asleep and drooling on the keyboard. Shorted out a lot of PCs. Don’t get me wrong, I love the classics—Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow—and I owe my career to them. But modern times demand that we stretch our writing chops to mix genres that may not have been previously incorporated, e.g., the vampire western, the zombie literary classic, the sci-fi detective, and so on.

So now, I present to you the supernatural action-thriller. I hope you like it.