When is an alien abduction not a sci-fi novel?

 

The Doug Fletcher mystery series has bounced between U.S. national parks and monuments. A variety of readers and resource people from around the country suggest locales and plots to me. I got a call from Mike (my veterinary consultant) who said, "You HAVE to set a book in Effigy Mounds National Park. It's the perfect location for nefarious activities."

After a bit of research, I learned that the animal-shaped Native burial mounds in the park are extremely rare, and nearly impossible to visualize from the ground. The park service didn't grasp the number and arrangement of the animal shapes prior to an aerial survey. More than one writer has suggested that the original mound builders, working long before the invention of the airplane, had assistance from aliens in spaceships. Add to that the large number of modern UFO reports in the area and an abundance of regional alien conspiracy advocates. 

After weeks of research, my characters started screaming at me to stop digging and start writing. (Their voices will be the topic of a future blog.) I wrote an outline for the Burnt Evidence, then the characters got involved and I lost control. Doug and Jill Fletcher were living a quiet life as law enforcement rangers at Padre Island National Seashore when their superintendent got a call requesting their assistance in Iowa. A 911 call had been cut short by a scream. A melted cellphone, and metal remnants of clothing were later found in a burned circle inside Effigy Mounds National Park, suggesting an alien abduction.

Then, I thought, uh oh, you've started a science fiction novel. Add sightings of glowing lights over the Mississippi River and college students investigating the abduction site, and the plot sounded like Robert Heinlein.

I wrestled control of the plot back from the characters and put them on track to solve the mystery of the abduction. Working through the plot, they deal with Doug's ex-wife who's an anthropology professor, an Air Force UFO expert, and a scientist from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. They enlist assistance from a Navajo colleague to help sort the Native lore from the science fiction. Jill's spiritual side emerges as she tries to rationalize the apparent alien abduction, UFO sightings, and ghostly apparitions, with her scientific background and religious beliefs.

It was a fun book to write, and I tapped the knowledge of numerous people including an anthropologist, a veterinarian, a police/horse resource and muse, a retired director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a tuba player (don't ask), and a retired scientist. Combined, they steered me toward the unexpected events and revelations that add the twists and turns to the plot. My BWL publishing colleagues edited and improved the manuscript. Michelle Lee designed the intriguing cover.

It's different from my previous stories, but it is a mystery, not science fiction. The characters are stretched, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. All that leads to an unexpected ending as they race through a moonlit park, trying to pull the last pieces of the puzzle together.

Dean Hovey is the award-winning and best-selling author of the Doug Fletcher mysteries, the Pine County mysteries, and the Whistling Pines cozy series.