Hi, Christopher,
Thanks for posting. I’ll try to answer your questions.
Re: Research process. That depends on the book. e.g. for “Juvie” all I did was talk with a social worker. I invented the group home idea, but it was all feasible and believable that 3 “trustees” would be allowed to live with one social worker under strict supervision (which turned out to be a little less strict than planned!) The same applied to UNGIFTED. This was far from an ordinary gifted class as we know it. The kids were genius level, and pretty quirky. So I didn’t have to worry too much about accuracy there, or Noah wouldn’t have made the cut. And MASTERMINDS (there are 3 in the series) is kind of sci-fi, so anything goes.
That isn’t to say that I don’t research at all. My ISLAND trilogy took hours of study because I knew nothing about boats. Ditto the EVEREST trilogy — in that case I got so into the research that I almost missed my writing deadlines! Honestly, who knew high-altitude mountaineering could be so fascinating?
BUT. How did I get inside the MASTERMINDS characters’ minds? I’d love to go on about how intricate the planning was, etc., but the fact is that these were ordinary people in special circumstances. I wing it. True confession.
I hope that’s helpful. If there’s anything else, you know where to find me — right here on the website.
Thanks for your interest in me and my work.
—-Gordon Korman—-