Walking in the gale force winds last week, provided me a the exact scene I needed to move the  sequel forward. The idea is all there, including the last line of dialogue. Now, I need to plan a double assault on a research lab. I need to what? Oh jeez. I remember being here in the first novel. How did I fall into writing techno thrillers?

I had no idea when this idea for The Esau Continuum came to me that I would be versing myself in stem cell research, genetic engineering, or military assaults. It’s one thing to say, “Oh, I have this great idea.” It’s another thing to get the details in the right order with the right touch of reality. That’s one thing I always think about. Is this plausible? Especially when I’m writing action scenes. I live with a houseful of men. Men who watch action movies (I’m a fan myself), men who play video games (notoriously violent video games), and not to mention my spectacularly talented video game genius cousin…shout out to Eric Feinberg! I couldn’t live it down if I wrote a hackneyed action scene. You should’ve heard the debate over the NSA versus CIA or suppressors versus silencers. If I didn’t get the details correct, I would be hearing about it.

Techno thriller isn’t my only genre. I’m writing a murder mystery, a dystopian trilogy and a novel about Hell. The process is the same for every story. Research, research, research and then…..put the story together with pacing, structure and plausibility. I’m also not afraid to tap the experts…..hey, teenage son….I have a couple of questions!