Tag Archives: Research

Some Kind of Human

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PLEASE NOTE: This blog contains details that may distress some readers.

They say reality is stranger than fiction, and recent reports based on information acquired through ‘Freedom of Information Act’ suits revealed that is consistently true.

As you may know, my young adult novels are near science fiction. This means these stories are based around science that feels like it could happen, but in reality pushes out the boundaries of what is actually possible. That is, unless science catches up. Unfortunately, when you write stories exposing the underbelly of bioethics, that’s not always a good thing.

Replicate is the second novel in the ‘Blaine Colton Trilogy’ and it broaches the issue of embryonic cloning (hence the title). This sees Blaine accidentally uncover an international crime syndicate that appears to be selling off embryonic body parts—amongst other things. Fiction, right?

Actually, this idea was sparked by genuine reports of foetal-organ-trafficking. As I delved into it, there was clear evidence that this was occurring. Around the time of Replicate’s release, a report detailed the NIH had received funding to purchase human brains and organs from aborted babies to “spare mice pain and suffering”. This is despite the fact unborn babies feel pain and are not offered pain relief as they are dismembered during abortion procedures. The same article explained how there was an organ-processing service that would collect the bodies of aborted babies from clinics, dissect out their organs for individual packaging, then send those tissues to labs for research. Some even sent whole heads to “preserve fragile neural tissue”.

This practice of organ harvesting for profit was again reported in April 2017 with admissions of price haggling over “specimens” from unborn babies as old as 24 weeks in utero. Fast track some years …

In June 2020, The Federalist reported that witnesses made statements under oath revealing “women’s healthcare” providers had dissected organs out of babies born alive. (Apparently some babies ‘“just fall out” of some women in the operating room’. Like, what?!) More recently, information acquired under FOIA included a price list for—you guessed it—body parts of aborted babies.

Photo Credit: Stillborn, Nicci Coertze Kruger from Pixabay

Cuts a little close to the bone, true? But it gets even more bizarre …

April this year Judicial Watch released an article detailing FDA purchases in recent years of fresh “foetal organs” to create “humanised mice” for the testing of biological drugs. (Yep, you read that correctly.) Advanced Bioscience Resources (ABR) based in California was contracted to supply human foetal tissue “with a gestational age of 16 to 24 weeks”. In March 2019 a lawsuit ordered HHS to release records about harvested tissue from aborted babies, with ‘… [t]he court [finding] “there is reason to question” whether the transactions violate federal law barring the sale of fetal organs.’

And yet … (Do we EVER learn???)

In April 2021 the Biden administration reversed President Trump’s policy that protected ‘… preborn Americans from the callous dehumanization of organ harvesting and further desecration of their bodies in research disguised as “science.”’ In June 2021 The Federalist report revealed boards overseeing human foetal tissue research, with the power to block research proposals for ethical reasons, were shut down. Also, the Centre for Medical Progress revealed shocking reports of NIAID at NIH funding studies that involved stitching the scalp of 5-month-old aborted babies onto rats for experimentation, along with killing infants delivered alive for harvesting of livers. And it gets even weirder, with other reports of guidelines for research surrounding the creation of human-animal (otherwise known as ‘chimeras’), and more.

Photo Credit: Animal, Tibor Janosi Mozes from Pixabay

Even in light of my latest work in progress, where aborted children are being misused for a hellish, high-tech ploy, these above examples make my science fiction seem tame. I will not destroy the plot twists for you in the event this story gets published, but these organ-trafficking reports deliver alarming parallels to a number of elements in this new story. This unthinkable commoditising of the most vulnerable humans in our world makes me wonder when we’re going to stop and allow the horror of what this truly means to seep in. Large numbers of these are children who would have had an excellent chance of survival outside the womb. And yet, they are reduced to just another ‘cut of meat’ for the butcher to serve to their clients.

As always, the truth is much stranger, and significantly more horrifying, than fiction.

And then there was …

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ActivatemedOn November 1, ‘Activate’ final book in the Blaine Colton young adult techno-crime thriller trilogy, was released. Yay!!!! Celebration time for sure. But a thought has been edging into my mind that once the buzz of launches, signings and visits settles, I’ll be writing … Well, what will I be writing?!

Yes, I do have works in progress. I also have a quandary.

Somehow, after completing the trilogy, one of the characters in ‘Activate’ got a life all their own. So I’ve found myself halfway through a spin off story. But there’s also a story that’s been on the backburner for … well … a while. Originally penned for the general adult fiction market, I’m rewriting it as a YA. It really does seem to be working, but it’s also a challenging project. Meaning, it will take time to get it right.

Perhaps I need to admit to myself that there might be a teensy bit of laziness factoring into that equation. You see, project ‘old-made-new’ has historical elements I’ll have to squish back into whatever grey matter I have remaining in the crevices of my head. You know what that means? Lots of research i.e. lots of extra work. And well, the speculative SciFi angle the spin off is taking, doesn’t have quite so many restrictions.

My brain says something new. (Hang, my publisher probably does too. LOL.) But those characters have a way of sneaking into your mind and pulling on your heart strings.

There’s one group I haven’t asked yet. You! 🙂

What would you do? More of the same or something different. Or would you do the crazy juggle I used to, of writing multiple novels at once? Hit me with your thoughts! It would be great to hear your angle.

Dot to Dot

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The last couple of weeks have been pretty exhausting. Everyone in the family has been sick, with lots happening generally. All I wanted after work yesterday was to crawl to our spare room where the late afternoon sun warms the bed and rest my weary body – and I did!

As good as that felt, can you believe that just hours later information relating to plot lines and scenes for various manuscripts started ticking through my head? And maybe this sounds crazy, but I started thinking about how much I enjoy searching out facts and gluing together the foundational elements of a story. Research!

Perhaps that’s why I find writing historical fiction especially satisfying. It’s like a constant tension of discovery and never quite knowing enough about something – or thinking you do, only to later discover another fragment of  ‘evidence’ that completely disrupts all the strands you’ve so carefully aligned about a particular period or event.

Embarking on such searches can create a peculiar cycle of frustration, exhilaration and self-doubt.
“Did I really read/record that correctly?”
“I’m sure there was a connection! Why can’t I find it now?”
“I simply cannot find that piece of information so critical to this scene. Should I rewrite?”
“Every account I’ve found is different!”

Needles in haystacks?

In the past there have been times when I’ve covered the entire floor of the office with maps; eye witness accounts of a particular historical event; shipping records; genealogies and any other relevant document, with me planted tail up nose down in the middle, trying to find that one link between them all – a date or event that connects every point. And then, success!

That, to me, grants licence to dance manically about the room and holler for anyone in earshot to come share the excitement. (This usually incites a “the woman’s crazy” look from the family.) Then, with that one dot, I start tracing a thread to the next point; the next challenge.

Is this madness? Does it prove that writers are essentially suckers for punishment? I actually believe we all do this on one level or another, seeking out those points of connection that provide “That’s it!” moments for a searching heart. These can be critical markers in our lives.

Identity: it’s our history, our now, our future. Even if we’re quite secure with ourselves, I think most of us recognise that self-discovery is a constant. Whatever our self-perception, just like connecting those dots in research there’s always a thread that leads us to a new place – a new discovery. This can be releasing for those struggling with identity, an assurance that there is so much more to come. And for those comfortable with themselves, it can be like adding strength to a beautiful structure.

Let’s never give up on chasing those threads.