It's All About the Batteries

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Do you have an Alexa? I love ours. And I use it every day. Alexa, what is 270.00 divided by 20? Alexa, what day of the week is October 17 in 2020?  Alexa, how old is...well, I won't go on. Now. People who know say Alexa IS listening all the time, but only records when you say "Alexa." May...bee...

(Alexa is such a problem that I know have to THINK before I talk to my publicist, whose name is Alexis.) But I love my FitBit, and my Netflix, and  our Waze. Is that a problem? Might it be?

The fabulous, incomparable, brilliant, loving, talented and hilarious Julie Hyzy--and even those words aren't enough--is tackling technology in her amazing groundbreaking new thriller, VIRTAL SABOTAGE. Yes, that Julie Hyzy. The New York Times Best-selling Anthony-winning beyond-successful author of the White House Chef series, and the Manor of Murder series, and so many more wonderful books--has accepted another challenge. You will LOVE this book. 

And we are thrilled she's here today to tell us about it.

Technology in crime fiction, friend or enemy?

Julie Hyzy

For crime fiction authors, technology is great.

Except when it isn’t. Which is why I like to think technology is crime fiction’s frenemy: supportive and fun when your manuscript is rolling along but quick to betray you when the going gets tough.

Here’s the tricky thing about devising mysteries and thrillers: A writer needs to give the villain enough room to carry out his nefarious plan and be successful, but in a way the bad guy will eventually be caught. It can’t happen right away, though. The villain needs to have a reasonable expectation of getting away with it. He will, of course. That’s what the story’s all about. 

I can’t count the number of times I’ve plotted a fictional murder and realized belatedly—and with great disappointment—that my evil plan won’t work. Most often, it’s because of technology. In one memorable draft of Virtual Sabotage, the key scene I’d envisioned involved an intricate sequence of events and precise timing. The power goes out. The phones don’t work. A character realizes he ought to call for help but can’t. I wrote the scene and was even a little bit proud of it.

When it came to my first revision, however, I wondered why the character didn’t simply use his cell phone. Duh! 

Okay, fine. I rewrote it. In this version another character surreptitiously pockets the cell so that the first character can’t find it.

But wait. What if the cell phone’s owner received a call or text at that very moment? Murphy’s Law says it could happen. As the author, I could keep the cell silent for the duration of the scene, but that’s not good storytelling. Too much is at stake.

A little research and—voila!—I discovered that there are devices capable of shielding cell phones from sending or receiving signals. Although technology nearly stymied me, technology came to my rescue. 

It’s getting harder to commit a crime without an audience these days. Audience = witnesses. Security cameras are perched in virtually all public spaces. At the first whiff of trouble, nearly everyone whips out a phone to start recording. And don’t get me started on Alexa, Siri, or the Internet of Things. 

Evidence is everywhere because technology is everywhere.

The immediate identification of criminals —while good for society in real life—can cause serious consternation for a crime fiction writer. A story’s climax may occur in the scene where the killer is apprehended or the criminal mastermind foiled. But readers don’t want the immediate gratification of resolution by chapter two. Where’s the fun in that? 

Technology can make it hard to write believable crime fiction.

On the other hand, where would crime fiction be without technology? From magnifying glasses to forensic microscopes; from fingerprint-matching to DNA testing; from dial phones with curly cords attached to the wall to virtual reality, technology has been detectives’ reliable partner for many years. In some ways it’s almost like they’ve grown up together.

Julie and her first...typewriter!

Consider Sue Grafton’s alphabet series and her indomitable P.I., Kinsey Millhone. When the series ended in 2017, it was 1989 in the books. Home computers, as we know them today, were still out of reach. Note cards, a telephone, a typewriter, and a car were the tools Kinsey turned to most often. By contrast, K.J. Howe’s present-day hostage negotiator, Thea Paris (The Freedom Broker, Skyjack) has a veritable arsenal of technology at her fingertips. And what she doesn’t have on hand she can obtain with call to the right person (and her negotiating skills). These women get their jobs done admirably using the tools available to them.

Contemporary crime writers eager to craft a timely and inventive tale must utilize today’s technology or risk appearing clueless. They also benefit, from the fact that as writers of fiction, we’re allowed to expand on current technology and even invent some of our own. 

Julie's daughter trying virtual reality

That’s what I’ve done in Virtual Sabotage. I’ve taken today’s virtual reality headsets and given them an upgrade. In my book, virtual reality is significantly more sophisticated than it is today. VR is everywhere in Virtual Sabotage, as ubiquitous as cell phones are now. The illusions in my fictional VR are not merely a simple display. They’re brain-generated immersive experiences that can trigger real physiological reactions from unwary participants. That’s why they need lifeguards for the brain—envoys like my protagonist, Kenna Ward. 

Julie tries Virtual Reality

Although the technology isn’t real yet, it soon could be. 

Think about the world we live in right now. Things we take for granted would have been considered outrageous and virtually impossible by our ancestors. And yet, here we are.

For writers of contemporary crime fiction, technology is a force that cannot be ignored. Whether it serves as a story’s catalyst or causes a plot to crumble, technology will always be crime fiction’s frenemy. What are your favorite uses of technology in fiction? Or your favorite technology fails? I’d love to hear from you!

HANK: When I was asked to edit my TIME books for new editions, I realized  the plot of AIR TIME depended on...beepers. Yup. Beepers. I fixed it, but there was a moment when I worried I'd been in the midst of an epic techno fail. What about you? And a copy of VIRTUAL SABOTAGE  to one very very lucky commenter! 

Julie Hyzy is the New York Times bestselling and Anthony Award-winning author of the standalone thriller, VIRTUAL SABOTAGE(October 23, 2018, Calexia Press),the White House Chef mystery series, the Manor of Murder mystery series and the Alex St. James mystery series.

VIRTUAL SABOTAGE 

A new stand-alone thriller from the New York Times bestselling author Julie Hyzy, Virtual Sabotage introduces Kenna Ward, an envoy for a virtual reality company whose implants create a thrilling world that allows people to create daring scenarios in a safe environment. Most of the time, that is. When in the rare instance the human brain mistakes the terrifying event as real, it's up to Ward to enter the scenario and pull them back to reality. But when a key envoy goes rogue and people begin responding in odd and dangerous ways, Ward delves deeper, finding a sinister conspiracy to take over not only the virtual reality world, but the real one as well. Ward must stop it before there are no longer any independent minds left to control.