A lot of research will go into every novel someone writes. Or rather, if authors intend to make their work as meaningful as possible they will do the applicable research. In my new novel (THIS NEVER HAPPENED) there is a laundry list of extremely diverse topics I felt I had to research in order to help the authenticity of the story. Some of this research time was spanning many days, while other bits only required a few relatively simple internet searches.

Because I think the range of topics in this book is quite impressive (and maybe a little bit out there) I’ve compiled a list of some of my research topics over the last 2+ years. Here’s what I’ve come up with, just off the top of my head:

1. What was happening on Earth 10,000 years ago
2. The Neolithic (agricultural) Revolution
3. Black holes, and the death of them
4. Alternate universes, parallel worlds
5. Cosmological and astrological epochs
6. Brain cancer
7. Prosopagnosia
8. Hypoxic Hypoxia
9. Dementia
10. Prescription drugs: pain killers, anti-depression meds, medicinal marijuana (psychopharmaceuticals)
11. History of Coney Island, NY
12. Coney Island Mermaid Parade
13. Coney Island Sideshows by the Seashore; freak show history
14. Russians in Brighton Beach, NY
15. Polish surnames
16. NY subway  system, specifically routes within Brooklyn
17. Roosevelt Island
18. Shoe repair supplies
19. Mythological creatures: griffin, headless horsemen, undine, pegasus
20. Metal bands’ album covers
21. French novels from the 1970’s
22. MMORPG’s
23. Virtual reality gear
24. Conspiracy theories
25. Drones
26. The science of throwing a baseball

What does it all add up to? Hopefully a thought-provoking, frightening and sometimes humorous work of fiction. We’ll see.