Archive for June, 2015

The perils of dependence

Posted: June 12, 2015 in Science and Technology
Tags: , , ,
0

In The Carrington Event, I talk about an impending coronal mass ejection (a solar storm) that would have devastating effects on our modern world. When I was researching this quiet calamity I wondered what we’re doing to stop or prepare for it. Sadly, I didn’t find much.

But today I found a great article that NASA is working to help predict and alert for this type of danger.
Check it out: NASA to predict solar storms
One of my characters in the book was working on the same sort of idea. How cool is that? I really had no idea NASA had been doing this sort of thing. But it just made sense that someone would. And thank goodness because we’re so dependent on electronics these days – electronic records, communications, even the Internet Of Things…It should be a concern. A major concern.

The Carrington Event itself was a real event that happened in 1859 and if it happened today it would damage our way of life. Quickly. According to NASA the average time it takes is 98 hours from bursting on the sun to reaching our Earth. If we could predict them, we can add more time to that relatively quick turnaround.

It’s good to see so much research going into this. It’s a catastrophe we could and should protect ourselves from.

Wicked Wednesday Free eBook

Posted: June 10, 2015 in Writing
Tags: , , , , ,
0

One last time. Had to do one more free promotion. Free giveaway today – The Carrington Event

ThrillerFest is less than a month away. I talk with authors. I meet famous authors. I listen to successful authors talk about their craft. I meet new Agents. I network. I have the time of my life. If you want to publish big, go to New York.

The first question my agent friends will ask is how many downloads I’ve had. So I want this number to be as big as I can make it.

And…A few months ago I was called by American Ninja Warrior. I submitted a great video and can do most of the obstacles. And the first question they asked? How many books have I sold or had downloaded? Well, apparently not enough because they didn’t select me to participate this year. So I’m building up for next year.

So do a guy a solid. Download this one for free. If you like fast-paced thrillers, you’ll like this book. It was incredibly fun to write and my reviewers say it’s incredibly fun to read. A real page turner.

AMAZON FREE eBOOK The Carrington Event

twitter_TCE_profile

Scientists discover 75 million year old dinosaur blood

Posted: June 10, 2015 in Writing
Tags: , , , , ,
0

This would be a great headline if I wrote Jurassic Park. And what interesting timing with a new movie coming out, but scientists really did find 75 million year old dinosaur blood.

Check it out: Scientists find dinosaur blood

75 million years old or not, just finding organic matter from any dinosaur era is spectacular. It’s great that they mention the 2005 discovery by scientist Mary Schweitzer of organic matter in a T-Rex bone. I used her research to start my whole series! In 2005 Mary used a chemical process to remove the fossilized portion of a T-Rex bone. Neatly cradled inside was soft tissue. This was an amazing find. But alas, no Jurassic Park here either. DNA doesn’t survive well after 1 million years, let alone 75 or 100. But it sure is fascinating.

In my first book, Genetic Impulse, Dr. Susan Chang uses the same technique Dr. Schweitzer did, but against pre-human bones. She was able to extract DNA from earlier hominids. We’ve since decoded two earlier human-like species, Neanderthal and Denosovans, but they’re our most recent. Wouldn’t it be interesting if we could go back farther and find out something about ourselves we didn’t know? What if this lead to a discovery about what we’re to become?

It’s great food for a novel. I have not yet released Genetic Impulse, but will certainly do in the near future. You can read the first chapter here…Genetic Impulse

BTW – Free eBook download today! The Carrington Event

Great spy tech

Posted: June 9, 2015 in Science and Technology, Writing
Tags: , , , ,
0

I’m always on the lookout for new scientific advances I can use in my thrillers. I found this interesting nugget about sending power (electricity) over wi-fi.

Okay. Sounds cool, but what can it do for my story? In the article, they talk about the research team sending power to a camera remotely. They were even able to pass the energy through a brick wall!
Imagine you have a need to bug a room where they sweep for such devices daily. But if the camera or recording device could lay inert, the sweep would miss it!

Your protagonist charges the device from an adjacent room. She’s nervous, not sure if it’ll work at this distance. She only has one chance to get a clue from this group of bad guys. A picture of a face that ties them to some other group, or recording that catches a word, a slip by one of the men giving her a clue to where they’re going to strike next. The device records until the power is diminished and waits to be picked up later.

I recently read a great thriller by Joseph Finder (met him at ThrillerFest last year, great guy BTW). His book was titled “Suspicion” and his characters could have advantageously used such a high tech device.

Check out the article: Wi-Fi power
Use it to help capture your bad guys when your readers think they’re unstoppable.

A new twist on virus thrillers

Posted: June 7, 2015 in Science and Technology, Writing
Tags: , , , , ,
0

I found this interesting article, This blood test can tell you every virus you’ve ever had.

Very interesting advancement for the health industry. Although this test won’t help you out of any current issue, it’s interesting to note that it can help you look at your virus history. Antibodies build up as a defense against them. Since they remain in the body, its like a log or history of any one of the 206 known viruses to affect humans.

But here’s the writing twist. How can you make this latest news a story?

What if the test discovered a new antibody, not attached to any known virus. And every other human has it? Is this a pending disaster? What could trigger an outbreak? Is it deadly? What if your loved one had it and you did not?

Oh, you could really twist a great deal of conflicts and motivations behind something like this. And you know what I like about it? It’s REAL. It’s not just science fiction. The science behind it is real. The threat is imagined, but I really like illuminating science news with a little drama. It makes it interesting. When I read articles like this my head spins with story ideas. I would love to see more authors do this.

We use a lot of investigative science to solve crimes. Why not science that creates problems?

James Rollins does some nice work. I’m certainly a big fan of his use of science. Not bad for a former vet. With the unbelievable rate of advances in the scientific community, I’m a little surprised I don’t see more. This fascinates me and we can write it correctly, I’d bet we could fascinate others.