Night vision

Abstract

I learned long ago, whether writing fiction or nonfiction, an author loses credibility if he’s caught in a factual error. Because of this, I do exten­sive research before starting a new Doc Ford novel, and Night Visionis no different. However, a scene takes place in this book for which no research data was available. It concerns bottlenose dolphins that are surprised while foraging beneath mangrove trees, on land, on a starry, moonless night. As the author, though, I can vouch for the scene’s accuracy and authentic­ity because I witnessed a similar event, and the details are as described, although viewed through the eyes of Marion Ford and Tomlinson.