Back Story

I wanted to write a story of betrayal.  A man and a woman become involved, and then one betrays the other.  But I didn’t want to write about adultery.  Infidelity has been done.  I began to think about other kinds of betrayal, other sorts of lying.  How would intellectual dishonesty affect a relationship?  What if the man and woman were scientists?  I began to explore the world of laboratory science with its intense hierarchies, its code of honor, trust and shame.  And I began to consider what happens when one scientist accuses another of cheating.  How does cheating happen?  How can a cheater justify his actions?  What becomes of an accuser?  Do small omissions add up to fraud?  Many people have written articles and non-fiction books about accusations of scientific fraud.  As a novelist, I felt that I could contribute something new.  I could write about a complex situation from the inside and explore the motivations of each player.  I spent time in laboratories and in animal research facilities so that I could write with authority about the sights and sounds and smells there.  I spent even more time thinking about my imaginary characters.  I chose scientists as the actors in my drama, and the laboratory as my theater, but the subject of Intuition is the human heart and mind.