Michael Crichton graduated from Harvard Medical School, refused to take the board exams required for a medical license, and instead became a full-time writer. He then achieved a feat that had never been done before: by skillfully weaving unprecedented dollops of technical information into a suspenseful page-turning narrative, Crichton single-handedly invented the sci-fi thriller.
In our June 27th meeting, we’ll explore how to use science to craft a more thrilling narrative from Amy Rogers, one of the most talented and prominent writers of the Crichton tradition. Romance writers of all subgenres can use her tips and tricks for building more believable worlds and characters - and a plot twist or two!
This is a free, online event. Registration is required.
About Amy
Amy Rogers, MD, PhD, began her writing career in elementary school by (unsuccessfully) submitting anecdotes to Reader’s Digest in hopes of earning twenty-five bucks. By junior high her real passion was science, especially microbiology. In the bedroom of her home in rural southern Minnesota, she kept Petri dishes of bacteria in an egg incubator and won purple ribbons in science fairs. That passion led her to study biochemistry at Harvard, and ultimately to earn a doctorate in immunology. Wee beasties animated her years of teaching microbiology at the university level. More recently, micro-critters inspire her to write short stories that highlight their amazing powers, and novels that use real science and medicine to create plausible, frightening scenarios in the style of Michael Crichton.
Amy’s thrilling science-themed novels pose frightening “what if?” questions. Compelling characters and fictionalized science—not science fiction—make her books page-turners that seamlessly blend reality and imagination. Her debut novel Petroplague is about a biotechnology disaster in which oil-eating bacteria contaminate the fuel supply of Los Angeles and paralyze the city. She has since published Reversion, and The Han Agent, a multi-award winning novel.
Her nonfiction articles about science and engineering behind the scenes of everyday life first appeared in the Inside Arden newspaper and are now collected in her book Science in the Neighborhood. Amy is an Active member of International Thriller Writers, and serves as treasurer for Northern California Publishers and Authors.
She is a highly sought-after speaker who delivers thrilling lectures around the country. A member of International Thriller Writers, she served as a judge for ITW’s Thriller Awards and has twice been a panelist at ThrillerFest in New York; a panel moderator at Left Coast Crime; keynote speaker at the University of the Pacific Conference on Creative Writing, and elsewhere.
Relentlessly curious, she works for scientific literacy and nature education for kids.
This author loves dim sum, Ted Drewes, redwood forests, Minnesota lakes, Hawaiian beaches, and cats. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two exceptional children who believe she has an unreasonable tolerance for mysterious things growing in her refrigerator.
Visit her website: https://www.amyrogers.com/