A Conversation with Dorian Paul

with Dorian Paul

We are delighted to welcome author Dorian Paul to Omnimystery News today. Actually, that should be "authors" as Dorian Paul is the pen name used by Dorrie Parini and Paul LaFerriere, whose first novel, Risking the World (Wilde About You, February 2012 trade paperback and ebook formats), is a bioterrorist thriller centered on a plot to purposely infect children with tuberculosis.

We recently had a chance to talk to the authors about their work in general, and their new book in particular.

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Omnimystery News: Tell us a little more about your new book.

Dorian Paul: Risking the World is the first of a series, and a sequel, Deadly Hygiene, is in the works for 2013. The lead characters are Claire Ashe, an American scientist, and David Ruskin, a British intelligence officer. At the end of Risking the World, both live to fight another day, fortuitous since our readers love them. One wrote that Claire "lives and breathes"; another that "I wanted to shake David when he wouldn't open up to Claire." In future books, these characters will change while at the same time remaining true to themselves. They'll surprise each other and you, the reader, when put to the test — but more than anything, they'll surprise their adversaries!

OMN: We tend to categorize books into little niches based on our perception of them. We called your book a "bioterrorist thriller". Do you think that is an accurate label?

DP: Thriller, science thriller, suspense novel, romantic suspense, cross-over, many of these apply to Risking the World. We think our book is all about characters, probably far more important to any book's success than category. And yet the concept of category helps readers and the publishing industry. But what do these reveal about the reading experience? A better way might be to compare books is by making reference to authors or types of books readers already know. For example, Risking the World is a book for readers who:
… like Tom Clancy, but want to try science instead of flash-bangs;
… like romantic suspense because of fully formed female leads, but are tired of heroes who are too good to be true;
… groove to medical thrillers (like Tess Gerritsen) or science-based stories (like Michael Crichton).

OMN: You started together by writing science and medical education materials. What prompted you to write a novel?

DP: Science is our "thing". For years we wrote about cutting edge science for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, working with inventors of genetic engineering processes and breakthrough drugs. Sometimes we had to explain the science before it reached the textbooks. We wanted to extend this, and give readers a peek behind the screen where scientists use Nobel laureate research in a life and death bioterrorism crisis. Could this be required for real? You betcha!

OMN: How did you approach writing the book?

DP: It was a combination of "seat of the pants" writing and following a detailed plan. An initial outline is essential to lay out all the moving parts. Personally, we divide the story up into its basic movements and then use large index cards for scenes. Some of the topics on the cards include: the POV the scene is written in, the purpose and setting of the scene, the characters present, and the various plot layers for each of the characters, as well as any special effects. This allows us to divvy up the cards and work independently, reading to each other at night, feeding off ideas — and being open to those great seat of the pants moments that influence the ultimate shape of the book.

As far as character bios are concerned, each character needs an arc, goals, motivations, and conflicts. However it's done, knowing the ins and outs of your characters is imperative to make your readers invest in them. One reader said she could tell who was speaking by the language being used, even without the dialogue tags. Why? Probably because attention to each character's words and speaking style was developed in detail and followed through during our editing process.

OMN: We suspect you devoted a lot of time and energy into researching Risking the World. Tell us more about the process.

DP: Research is important for a science thriller and fortunately we've got experience digging around in the scientific arena. The internet is generally the most up-to-date, but you have to be careful about which sources are reliable. Peer reviewed journals, as far as the science end of things goes, are top-notch. Beyond that we do know scientists who we run ideas by periodically.

In Risking the World the science we describe is real, but the way we put it together is fiction. Herein lay the challenge — using what was known and projecting into the unknown. What's put forward could in fact happen under a worst case scenario.

The most exciting topic to research was Bucky Balls, a form of nanotechnology. Who would have thought Buckminster Fuller, a man beloved by hippies for inventing the Geodesic Dome, would see his name associated with a technique in which scientists manipulate matter on an atomic and molecular scale? Designer nanomolecules offer almost unlimited possibilities for made-to-order applications for treating diseases, and it is in this realm that Claire Ashe battles against a bio-engineered form of TB.

OMN: The characters in your book travel the world. Are these places you've visited yourself?

DP: Yes, though some specifics have been altered in the interests of fiction. But we try to be true, not only to the setting's geography, but it's spirit as well. We love London, and know its buildings and people through work life and friends. Paris is, well, Paris. Morocco has been seen by one of us through the eyes of the U.S. State Department. And New York is a childhood haunt, enriched by professional success.

OMN: Speaking of your childhood — how's that for a segue? — what kinds of books did you read when you were young?

DP: When we met, we discovered that each of us read under the covers with a flashlight as kids. When we got married we found we had so many duplicate books we had to give lots away. Classics are favorites of both of us, but we're willing to try all sorts of things. So many books, so little time!

OMN: You've mentioned that science is an important part of your life and writing. What about other activities or hobbies? Have they made, or will they make, an appearance in your books?

DP: It's inevitable hobbies turn up in your writing. Dorrie loves antiques and china, and by the way, Claire Ashe knows a thing or two about china. Paul is in love with the Wallace Collection in London and its eclectic mix of paintings and armour. No surprise David visits the Wallace Collection to uncover the villain's secret past.

OMN: Just for fun, if Risking the World were adapted for TV or film, who do you see in the lead roles?

DP: Think of Michelle Dockery, Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey, as Claire Ashe. She has the right mix of intelligence and spunk. As for David Ruskin, how about Henry Cavill, who played Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, in The Tudors. He's handsome, bold, and willing to risk his life by speaking truth to the King.

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Dorrie Parini and Paul LaFerriere, known to clients and friends as Dorian Paul, built a company of 100+ people who created medical education materials. For nearly three decades they worked with Fortune 500 pharmaceutical and biotech companies to explain breakthroughs in genetic engineering, immunology, cancer research and many other areas.

With day-to-day corporate responsibilities behind them, they naturally returned to what brought them together — two people writing as one. Given their experience, expect tales of suspense, romance, and cutting edge science.

When not penning novels that open up the brave new world of science and technology, Dorian Paul can be found relishing New England beach walks in all kinds of weather … and in favorite cities like New York, London, and Baden-Baden. But, of course, that's only when a new story isn't budding in the brain.

Dorian Paul enjoy giving talks and readings for book clubs and other groups (just ask). They're available for questions through their web site DorianPaul.com.

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Risking the World
Dorian Paul

Kidnapped in Morocco to help weaponize a killer TB, American scientist Claire Ashe says flat out "No", an answer that triggers a chain of shattering events. For starters it pits her against David Ruskin, an arms dealer, and Varat, the mastermind behind the plot. She doesn't know David's a British intelligence officer sent to unravel Varat's plans or that he's secretly intent on personal vengeance against Varat.

When David's forced to flee with Claire, his mission a failure on every count because he intervened in her near rape, things get more than a little complicated. Soon death, betrayal, and career suicide become part of a shared reality that puts their already frayed trust in each other to the test. When the first TB attack strikes a Paris nursery school and all the kids die, their cooperation is as vital as their mounting attraction is dangerous.

They reach a boiling point when his goal to end the game at any cost goes against her conviction that the exacting science needed to find an antidote is the only thing that will save the day. Who wins and at what price?