At The Sharp End of Lightning by NL Bates- Guest Post
At The Sharp End of Lightning by NL Bates- Guest Post
When I was offered to have a guest post from NL Bates on my site, I was offered to ask two questions. Mr. Bates was able to pick or answer both. I appreciate having NL Bates take the time to have a guest post on my site.
My Question: Where did you get the inspiration for the book ?or Where did you come up with your ideas for the book?
Answer from author NL Bates: Any easy answer to this question might be that the inspiration for the book came from a completely ordered, rationale and well-formed early concept. But, it was not so simple as this. If I think back on my early days of contemplating this book and its subsequent parts, I knew I wanted to explore the serious issues of global climate and environmental change in a different way to the approach I’ve been accustomed to. As a successful scientist, I have published many papers on the oceans with the gravitas and seriousness that this requires.
As I searched for a way to explain environmental change, the fantastical world of Oceanlight emerged as a work of fiction, but underpinned by concepts and deep knowledge of ocean ecology. The influences on my writing are manifold, but I owe a great debt to the writers of literary fiction, magic realism and fantasy that I returned to again and again through my life.
In the first year of research and early writing, the inspirations for character, narrative, pacing and world building grew in an organic and somewhat serendipitous manner in addition to my purposeful choices. My characters emerged and I walked in their paths and in the various environments and circumstances that shape their lives. Some characters emerged rather unbidden and they surprised me in their actions.
At times, I wondered if I could keep the fictional world of the Oceanlight entirely separate from my science writing. But in hindsight, I find that both approaches to writing and communication, so different in their form and constraints, have benefitted each other. I am a better scientist for keeping the spark of creativity and deep curiosity at the centre of who I am, and a better writer of fiction due to my core commitment to the rigor of scientific principles.
About NR Bates:
NR Bates was born in London, grew up in Wales, and lived in Canada and Bermuda. He shares his life with his wife,seven cats, one dog and the tropical wildlife of lizards, wolf spiders and ant colonies that seek out a better life indoors. He is an oceanographer and scientist, and has published more than one hundred and twenty scientific papers on ocean chemistry, climate change and ocean acidification.
He is a Senior Scientist at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and Professor of Ocean Biogeochemistry at the University of Southampton, UK. His novels focus on epic fantasy and magic realism, and inspired by his deep love of the ocean and environmental sciences.
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