The Smilodone Code
One of the wildest things about writing fiction is finding an actual piece of information that seems unreal, but learning it's absolutely true and running with it. I love these little mysterious nuggets of information, because quite frankly - it's almost too good to be true. My imagination switches into high gear about all of the possibilities, good or bad, in these situations. Science gives an inch, science fiction writers take a mile — in all directions. For instance, my thought process at the beginning of my latest story was heavily influenced by an idea my sister had, and I liked it, but I also realized the storyline would need further detail. Based on a short dream, she described a ski resort that was losing skiers - but not exactly due to a collision with trees — it was an animal - a prehistoric animal, in fact, that was up there creating havoc for the hotel and mauling its guests. The hotel was, of course, hiding the information from the public. Soon, an invest...
