Romance author makes law work for her
Veronica Forand, author of Untrue Colors, shares how researching the law and its loopholes helps spark ideas for her romance fiction.
Veronica: I love challenging existing laws to place my fictional characters where they need to go in the most believable way possible. Can't get on the airplane without a valid passport? Steal one, but use it fast before it's reported missing. Need to sell military-grade arms in violation of an international treaty? Use middlemen and straw deals to make the transaction happen. Looking for good provenance on stolen art? Run the items through Brussels. They have the most thief-friendly art laws.
Are these things all legal? No, but they are logical. Structuring of transactions with a legal basis gives a story more legitimacy, and even illegal actions need to have a level of authenticity to them.
If you watched the Star Trek movie that starred Chris Pine, were you one of the people scratching their heads at why the renegade stowaway with no real work experience gained control of the Enterprise so quickly? Was there some obscure Starship regulation that ignored every other person on the ship in favor of someone completely unqualified? Perhaps all the high-level officers were in sickbay dealing with food poisoning, or maybe they were beamed off the ship by a malevolent force, leaving only the recent graduates of Star Fleet Academy to man the bridge. Without adequate reasons being provided, however, I had a hard time becoming fully absorbed in the film.
It's these huge plot holes in stories I strive to avoid at all costs. As an attorney, I need to make arguments in cases clear and logical. Gaping holes in legal reasoning can ruin a case. That's where loopholes come in. A loophole can make even tenuous arguments seem reasonable.
There are few absolutes in the law and an infinite number of loopholes if a person knows where to look. In the 20-plus years since graduating law school, I've written a mountain of legal briefs and reports regarding loopholes in child-custody law, criminal law, and in structuring corporate international tax deals. What seemed like a losing case, in many instances, turned around because the argument had an anchor in the law. This applies to writing as well.
I start every plot with a solid understanding of what should happen in the real world. This involves delving into any laws and topics that may form the backbone of a story. In Untrue Colors, I researched how a person would steal midlevel art and sell it on the black market. The research led to interesting issues I could use when plotting, such as ways to structure the transactions that allow the buyer to become a legal owner of the property. I was also fascinated and horrified to learn of the destruction of ancient sites in war-torn areas such as Syria, Afghanistan and Cambodia. Priceless artifacts are ripped from the ground and stolen from museums and then sent overseas to fund weapon purchases.
A perfect enterprise for my villain.
In my current work, I have a European arms dealer working with North Koreans. The logistics and politics of moving arms into a country that has virtually zero military allies added a fun puzzle to the research. Which country would be the most useful to extricate a foreigner from a North Korean prison? Are outsiders permitted at North Korean military bases? What are the weakest links in the borders between North Korea, South Korea and China? My imagination is a critical component in making the story come alive, but my research into the politics and laws of that country gives me a starting point that adds a layer of legitimacy to the action.
The more real-life political and legal barriers I can throw in front of my characters, the better the conflicts. I'm still trying to figure out why Kirk was promoted so quickly. The only logical reason I could find was the director's lack of time to show a more logical progression. For me, however, that's not good enough.
"It is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of the fact. Insensibly, one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." — Sherlock Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia
Here's the blurb about Untrue Colors:
She's on the run...
Brilliant art appraiser Alex Northrop's ex used stolen art to fund his nefarious activities. Now he wants her dead. But it isn't just herself she's worried about—if he discovers who she really is, he'll kill her family.
Professor Henry Chilton is shocked to find a beautiful stranger passed out in his bed, and even more so when the she reveals a priceless painting is a forgery—the painting he'd planned to use to fund a woman's shelter. She's mysterious and frightened, and he is determined to discover why.
Alex's knowledge of art is undeniable—just as Henry's attraction to her is irresistible. But in order to help him recover the real painting, Alex isn't just risking exposure...she's risking her life.
Find out more about Veronica and her books at veronicaforand.com.