The Way We Were, And Thankfully Aren't Anymore

When I was researching my first novel, Cloudburst, in the early 1990s, I spent countless hours digging to ensure I had information that was as technically accurate as possible. I had to--this was the age of Tom Clancy, whose military thrillers were the de facto standard for the type of book I was writing. Fortunately, I did a pretty good job. Kirkus Reviews called it a 'Hyperreal whiz-bang first novel by a gifted high-tech specialist.' Publishers Weekly called it 'A gripping blend of techno-thriller and detective story.'

For me that meant Mission Accomplished. But what did it take? What did the research entail.

I drove over 3,000 miles to obtain materials, view locations, and talk face-to-face with people. I purchased more than 50 books to immerse myself in details ranging from the flap systems of the 747, to failed government energy initiatives in Cuba. I haunted the Government Printing Office Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles searching for CIA reports on terrorist training camps in North Africa. I spent WEEKS in libraries all over California, devouring everything written about runaway nuclear reactions, gamma ray absorption rates, and mid-Atlantic weather patterns, among other equally obscure subjects. I bought documentaries on VHS tape about Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Operation Thunderbolt in Uganda, the massacre in Munich, and even disturbing interviews with Holocaust survivors who'd undergone hideous medical experiments during World War 2.

I did all this before writing the book, and before seeking an agent and a publisher, which was a whole other realm of research in itself, involving weeks of reading every issue of Publishers Weekly at the library, and almost wearing out their copy of Literary Marketplace.

And today?

I could accomplish 99% of all the above via the internet, from my office, without spending a dime.

So, good old days? In some respects. But not this one.

Viva technology!