Re-search

I had a wobble this morning. Out of the fog of ideas which frequently go around in my head came one which reminded me that I’d had a character in Degenerate, Regenerate, which I’ve only just published, send a message by text. It hit me then; did texting actually exist at the time when I’d set this part of the book?

Panic set in as I googled. I’d recently criticised another author for giving a character a transplanted organ donated by a stranger at a time when these operations were in their infancy and only being tested on related-by-blood persons. Anachronism time; and had I just done likewise?

No, thank goodness; the answer on Google was positive. The first text message, I read, was sent in 1992, and then Nokia released their first mobile phone in 1993. In 1994 Vodaphone got involved, with predictive texting being invented in 1995, and the whole thing took off from there.

I was in the clear. But it does remind me of the need to research even the most basic things that we take for granted on an everyday basis. I’m off now to check whether a 13-year-old in my latest project is legally allowed a small glass of wine to celebrate her birthday. Cheers!