Thomas Locke is an award-winning novelist whose works have sold over eight million copies in twenty-six languages. Locke divides his time between Florida and the UK, where he is Writer-In-Residence at Oxford University. Jyoti Guptara dropped out of school at age 15 to write his first bestseller. An executive coach and business storytelling strategist, Jyoti has helped leaders on five continents experience more success with less stress. Together, they are as international, inter-generational, inter-racial writing duo and recently released their first mystery novel, Roulette.
About Roulette: When a new and dangerous substance suddenly appears on the rave scene in Gainesville, Florida, former special agent Eric Bannon is sent to investigate. The inquiry must be kept quiet, but why are senior government officials turning a blind eye to such a dangerous drug? The drug is called Roulette because there’s no way of knowing what kind of ecstasy awaits—a rollercoaster ride through any one of seven heavens—or straight to hell. Along with county hospital senior ER nurse, Carol Steen, and snobbish new doctor, Stacie Swann, Eric pinpoints the drug’s origin to clandestine operations within a university's student body and uncovers a terrifying truth: these young people both finance the production and facilitate the human trials of the world’s most exciting new high, with a purpose so heinous it will rewrite not just history, but the human genome.
Locke & Guptara stop by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about the new book. In this conversation, Jyoti gleans invaluable insights from seasoned master storyteller Thomas Locke, who is four decades his senior. Thomas reveals one of his secrets to penning four books every year: the right kind of research.
JYOTI GUPTARA:
Thomas, Roulette is the second mystery you and I co-authored. I’ve always been impressed with how quickly you write great first drafts – right down to the details that would take me ages to get right. How did you develop your approach to research, especially in genres that need a lot, like your historical fiction (published under ‘Davis Bunn’) and your technothrillers?
THOMAS LOCKE:
My first mystery was also my first breakout opportunity. I was offered the chance to move to a major house, have a big event-style release, if I had an idea big enough to fit the bill: To The Ends Of The Earth was my response - a murder mystery taking place in the fourth century, a few weeks after the death of Emperor Constantine, six months before civil war broke out.
My wife was doing her doctorate at Oxford University. I fearfully approached the head of her college and asked if I might get some help with the research. After being quizzed about my concept, the head granted me a one-year position as Visiting Member of the Senior Commons Room, which is something normally handed out to visiting professors. He also arranged for me to be tutored by a friend of his, the head of Oxford's theology department, a world-renowned specialist in late Roman empire, and the Orthodox Bishop of England.
No pressure.
We met, the Bishop and I, and he assigned me a ton of reading, plus two classes I needed to take. A week later, when we next met, I admitted defeat. To say I was overwhelmed didn't go far enough. I felt like the minnow swimming in a tank of whales.
The Bishop responded with advice I still apply to this day. My job is not to become an expert. My research task, with this book and all those to come, is twofold. First, I have to determine which questions are necessary in order to write a good story. Second, I must find one answer to each question. No more. Soon as I reach that singular milestone, I move on. Everything else must wait.
The most important lesson garnered here is just how easy research can become an excuse for not actually writing. Added to that is the risk is how extra research can become a barrier to the story's flow. The temptation is to write what might impress an expert. This in turn can damage and, at times, destroy the novel's appeal to a more general readership.
Determine the right questions. Find the one good and necessary answer.
Write the story.
JYOTI GUPTARA:
This approach is so liberating! I wish I’d learned this lesson sooner.
When you and I started working on our first joint thriller, I was serving as writer-in-residence at a United Nations partner organization in Geneva. I had unparalleled access to experts from the UN, WEF, WTO, UNESCO and other prestigious institutions. It was a goldmine for a writer…
And goldmines can be deadly if you get lost.
In Geneva, the potential for research was boundless. But with every expert I met, every piece of insider information I gathered, I found myself being pulled in a new direction. The allure of having such access was intoxicating. I envisioned a novel that would weave in intricate details from these global institutions, a story that would be both enlightening and thrilling.
I failed.
To use Thomas’s words, it was too easy for research to become an excuse for not actually writing. My biggest challenge was not having a clear vision for the story. That’s where a different kind of research comes into play: reading, travel and dialogue for inspiration. Say, your next book. Not the one you’re actively writing.
We could say there are two very different types of research: farming versus hunting.
Farming: This is the phase of exploration and discovery. A farmer tills the soil, plants various seeds, and waits to see what grows. Similarly, in the farming phase of research, we allow ourselves the freedom to meander. We dive into topics without a clear agenda, seeking inspiration and letting our curiosity guide us. It’s a time of soaking in information and seeing what resonates. An open-ended process. There's a certain beauty in not knowing exactly what you’ll find.
Hunting: After the season of exploration comes the phase of targeted pursuit. This is the hunting phase. Here, we’re no longer wandering aimlessly. We are going after known information holes with the focus and intentionality of an Inuit spearfishing through a hole in the ice. There are a million other fish under your frozen feet, but your only concern are the ones that swim under your hole. That’s what you, Thomas, described so vividly.
THOMAS LOCKE:
Well put, Jyoti. The trap is to confuse these two very different categories.
One tip is, don’t even think of the ‘farming’ phase as research. You’re simply looking for ideas and inspiration.
Again, the goal is to lock into a solid concept. And start writing.
You can learn more about the authors and the book via their website and Down & Out Books. Roulette is now available via all major booksellers.
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