I got nerded early.
My dad is a nuclear physicist. He worked for the Oak Ridge National Labs until he retired. My earliest memory is literally asking my dad why the sky is blue and him telling me about refraction.
My sister and I have always contended that we are not like other families. I can tell stories for days about what it’s like to grow up with a somewhat-mad scientist for a father. But he made me a scientist, too. A lifelong learner. I collect degrees and various job titles and you’ll see all of it in my books.
Eleri in the NightShade Forensic FBI Files series is a forensic biologist–just like me. GJ is a forensic anthropologist and archeologist. In The Vendetta Trifecta, when the FBI pursues Sin and Lee, analyst and scientist Ted Nguyen is using all the techniques and more than I learned when studying. The things in there are real. Most of them you can look up once you know what you’re looking for.
But it may help to know about the writer you’re reading. I once went into my dad’s basement and turned off all the lights. I couldn’t figure out why all the lights hadn’t gone off. It was night, so why was it still bright? I double checked all the light switches, then looked for new ones (my dad would absolutely just install a new light if he felt he needed it.) Then I started looking at the light itself. But where was it coming from?
It took a few minutes, then I found it on the top shelf of the built in shelving. Three small bottles labeled “bioluminescence.” Yup. They were brightening the whole room and I’m told that’s not a normal experience when people visit their parents.
At one point, my sister and I found these three large mercury thermometers in the junk drawer. The kind you used in science lab. When we asked my dad why he had them, he replied, “How else am I supposed to calibrate my microwave?”
I hope you enjoy the books! and if you’ve ever thought, “How does she come up with this stuff?” Well, this is part of the answer.
Happy Reading!
