Long before I wrote The White Giraffe, my first children’s book, I was a journalist for the Sunday Times in London. At that point I hadn’t yet discovered the joy of writing mysteries for children, and I was quite sure that reporting on sports and music was the best job in the world.
Why? Well, for one thing it’s a passport to meeting some of the most extraordinary people on earth. I don’t mean famous people, although I’ve interviewed Dolly Parton, Sia, Tiger Woods, and other stars of music, film, and sports along the way.
Looking back, the people who made the deepest impression on me were often the unseen and unsung heroes. Men and women who risked their lives to save refugees of war or natural disasters. Conservationists working in remote and dangerous outposts to save pangolins, rhinos, leopards, and other vanishing species. The teachers and librarians who inspire hope and transform difficult lives.
Not all heroes wear capes.
Many of my favorite assignments were investigations. I loved hunting for clues, meeting secret sources, and combing archives for snippets and links. It was a bit like being a detective. Once, I was sent to interview a traitorous spy on the run. Another time, a “good” spy helped me investigate Russian “sleeper” agents for a Sunday Times story. What I learned from him inspired the first book in this series, Kat Wolfe Investigates.
Becoming a writer is no way to get rich quick, but it’s an excellent way to see the world. I’ve swam with wild dolphins in Australia, rescued leopards and dolphins from Cyprus and Turkey with the Born Free Foundation, cruised in the Galapagos Islands, and researched mysteries in places as far flung as St. Petersburg, Russia, and Namibia in Africa.
Few things are as thrilling as an American road trip. For years, I spent every spring following the PGA Tour. Mostly, I travelled with Robinson Holloway, another young reporter, and mostly we stayed at seedy budget motels and ate at the Waffle House. Robinson is one of the smartest, funniest, kindest women I’ve ever known, and although we were mostly broke, we had so much fun cruising down the interstate listening to country music.
The minute I decided to set Kat Wolfe on Thin Ice in the Adirondacks, Robinson was the first person I called. Thankfully, she was free at short notice. We met in New Jersey, hopped into her car, turned on the country music, and hit the road.
I knew that I wanted part of the plot to unfold in New York City, which I adore. I also knew that I wanted the cabin in which Kat and Harper find themselves to be located in true wilderness. It was my editor, Wesley Adams, who suggested the Adirondacks.
It was a perfect fit. Robinson and I stayed with local scientists, Deb Roberts and Bob Singer. As well as being open-water swimmers, they’ve canoed practically every key lake and river in the six-million-acre park.
To begin with, I found the sheer size of the Adirondacks overwhelming. I couldn’t imagine how I’d find the exact right place for Kat and Harper’s cabin. But Bob, it turned out, had his own plane. He was also a superb pilot. He took me flying over the Adirondack mountains and there, on a blue lake surrounded by forest I saw the ideal spot.
Between Deb and Bob and the friendly locals we met in coffee shops, we were able to find the lesser-known trails at the height of the fall colors. The scenery was truly stunning. In one forest, I experienced what Riley does in my novel: ruby rain. The soft, jewel-like sound of the leaves falling will stay with me always.
The reason I go to such lengths to research my novels is in the hope that the reader will feel, really feel, that they’re standing in the shoes of Kat and Harper and solving the mystery along with them.
In the short time since I traveled to the Adirondacks, Covid-19 has changed the world beyond recognition. Few places have been hit harder than New York City, and few inhabitants have fought back with such courage. Every day, in every way, ordinary heroes are rising to the challenge, saving lives, and bringing smiles to hospitals, care homes, and communities.
Wherever you live, hold fast to hope and kindness. Those are the things that’ll see us all through. And if, like me, you love reading, you’ll know this simple truth. There is no better escape than getting lost in a book.
Keep reading and follow your dreams.
Lauren St John, 2020