Amy asked Erik Larson:

Dear Mr. Larson, I just read "Dead Wake" and felt like to understood the political situation surrounding the Lusitania and World War I for the first time. I was captivated by your portrait of our somewhat distracted president at this time. When researching for your books, how do you decide which historical players to include and which to leave out? Amy Smitter

Erik Larson Hi Amy,
It's not really a process of deciding. I always find that once I've finished my research the characters have already decided for me.

flag

Do you 'know' your characters when you begin or do they develop as you move the story forward? If the later, was there ever a time when you were shocked or surprised by the attitudes, reaction or voice of the character?

Ruth asked Erik Larson:

So do you start off on the road to a new writing project because it is something you yourself are interested in learning more about? Or is the decision more pragmatic than that?

Lauren asked Erik Larson:

Have you followed any of the continuing investigation into Crippen's guilt or innocence? A quick wikipedia search shows there was some controversial new DNA evidence that came out after Thunderstruck. What do you make of it?

All answers from Erik Larson…

Erik Larson

69,722 followers

To ask Erik Larson a question, please sign up.

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more

More Answered Questions

Do you 'know' your characters when you begin or do they develop as you move the story forward? If the later, was there ever a time when you were shocked or surprised by the attitudes, reaction or voice of the character?

So do you start off on the road to a new writing project because it is something you yourself are interested in learning more about? Or is the decision more pragmatic than that?

Have you followed any of the continuing investigation into Crippen's guilt or innocence? A quick wikipedia search shows there was some controversial new DNA evidence that came out after Thunderstruck. What do you make of it?

About Goodreads Q&A