Should COVID be a part of your next novel?
The answer to the question: Should
COVID be part of your novel? is: it depends.
Several publishers thought my book The Flu Is Coming (republished in 2018) should
sell like hot cakes during the COVID crisis. The pandemic and resulting public
health measures did lead to a feature article in the Easter Sunday edition of
the Albuquerque Journal. Sale of my
mystery/thriller increased slightly. On the other hand, when I advertised the
book on Facebook and in blogs, several readers said, ”The last thing I want to
do is to read about a pandemic and a quarantine.”
Generally, I think that facts are
the best way to make novels realistic and appealing to readers. However, in the
PBS series on Toni Morrison, she said that young writers should create their
“own world” and not worry about facts in their novels. I guess in response to
Morrison’s comment, I would say: Most of us aren’t young or potentially Nobel
Prize-winning authors. I still think good mysteries and thrillers depend on
facts. Of course, I should admit I was biological scientist and have always
like medical mysteries and thrillers.
So, should you include information
on COVID in your next novel? It depends on you. Do you have a special story to
tell about surprising friendships developing during a period of social
isolation or about courageous behavior during a medical emergency? Do you know
a bit of biology and want to write a medical mystery or thriller? Then
definitely include COVID in your next novel. If you want to write a cozy
mystery with a cooking theme, then maybe you should think twice before adding a
subplot on COVID. However, it could even be funny if you had a cooking diva
going wild in stocking up her freezer during a quarantine.
I didn’t include COVID in my most
recent novel A Pound of Flesh, Sorta,
but it is a medical mystery set in Western thriller. Did you know that almost
every year in the Southwest, thousands of prairie dogs “die off” because of the
plague? It’s caused by the same bacteria that caused the bubonic plague, and
often a several humans die, too. Scientists don’t understand the entire
etiology of prairie die offs, but the consequences for ranchers is huge. This
novel may give you a new perspective on the Southwest.
Blurb of latest novel: A Pound of
Flesh, Sorta: Leaders of drug gangs in New Mexico
don’t want scientist Sara Almquist to testify at their upcoming trials for
murder and racketeering. After Sara gets a package of sheep guts contaminated
with the bacteria that causes the plague, FBI agents rush to protect her. But
is the package a threat from the gangs to stop her from testifying or a public
health alert by a whistleblower?
A Pound of Flesh, Sorta is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0960028560
The Flu Is Coming is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578423251
Bio:
J. L. Greger is a
scientist turned novelist. She’s published nine mysteries and thrillers and two
books of short stories. She lives in the Southwest with her dog Bug, a
character in all her novels.
Comments
Janet
Thonie, I agree with your approach. A novel that is set during the pandemic will tend to be a medical mystery (I know exceptions are possible). However, I think novels (post the pandemic) could reflect changes in restaurant experiences - more carry out and patio dining and more cooking shows on TV and changes in shopping - more online but a new department chain to replace Pennys and others than go bankrupt during the next year. I think schools and universities will see major and lasting changes, but predicting how is tricky. It would be nice to think that we would learn something from the experience and invest more in development of all types of vaccines, but I doubt it.
Of course, when you try to write futuristic novels there are risks. I think most authors will try to avoid making predictions.