On reading Vanda's biography, I discovered that we have some shared interests. As well as being a talented crime writer, Vanda is also a pharmacist with a PhD in Science Communication. I write about consumer health for community pharmacists, have an MSc. in Science Communication and LOVE crime fiction. Perfect!
So Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books put me in touch with Vanda so that I could ask her about her PhD. Read on to discover more...
Science in crime fiction
By Vanda Symon
By Vanda Symon
What on earth possessed you to do a PhD?
For some strange reason I decided that it would be a great to do a PhD – well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. There were two main motivators. I had completed a University of Otago Summer School paper in forensic biology in the name of research for my crime novels. Trouble was, I enjoyed the studying and the topic too much and the course co-ordinator was an utter force of nature and a very persuasive man so when he said Vanda, you should come and join us for a PhD, I thought, why the hell not?
The second reason was a little more subjective. I wanted to do this for myself – to prove to myself that I had the wherewithal to undertake a long and rigorous project and see it through. Hand in hand with that was an underlying need to feel people took me seriously – which probably sounds a bit pathetic and needy, but that was the head space I was in when I embarked on the journey.
How did you decide on a topic?
A lot of people assumed, because I was a writer that I would do a PhD in literature or creative writing. But I am a science gal at heart – my undergraduate degree was in Pharmacy - so I wanted to explore something that wove together the many strands of my world - science, crime writing, and communication. My initial idea was to do something exploring the wonderful New Zealand Crime writer Dame Ngaio Marsh – she wrote 32 Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn novels in the golden era of crime fiction, and was heralded as one of the four Queens of Crime Fiction, along with Agatha Christie, Margerie Allingham and Dorothy Sayers, yet she had been largely forgotten in New Zealand. I wanted to look at her works from a science perspective because she had a knack of knocking people off with in some extraordinarily gruesome and unique ways, and she used poisons a number of times – gold for a pharmacist gal like me. I was also really curious about people’s attitude towards the science they encountered in crime fiction, and if they cared whether or not it was accurate. Somehow I managed to combine all of these elements into my thesis titled The Communication of Science in Crime Fiction.
So how did you find out if people cared whether or not the science in crime novels was true?
I took advantage of the power of the internet. I created an online survey with a series of questions about accuracy in science, if people liked learning about forensic science in their crime fiction, which authors they trusted to deliver the goods and related things. This was then distributed out into the world via social media, email sharing by libraries, book groups, writers and readers organisations. One thing I did have to do was make sure that people didn’t know that I was the researcher in case it swayed how they responded – I didn’t want them responding how they thought I might want them to! I was thrilled to have over 1000 readers complete the survey. And the amazing thing was how generous people were in their comments at the end of the survey questions – I was very pleasantly surprised.
It wasn’t just the readers I targeted – the writers didn’t get off Scott-free. I also created a survey for writers of crime fiction asking if the felt it important to provide accurate science in their fiction, whether they felt ethically obliged to make it correct, and if they worried about things like copycat crime.
So what did you find out? Did people care?
They sure did – which you would expect, I know as a reader I hate it when I spot a booboo. But where it got interesting was why, which became apparent in the comments people made. As one reader put it, if there was a mistake in the science, it broke their trust in every element of the novel, characters, plot, everything. When asked if they believed the science they read, they mostly did – but it depended on who the author was. The most trusted author by a country mile was Patricia Cornwell, followed by Kathy Reichs. Interesting that both have careers involved in forensics and science.
The authors likewise liked to ensure the science they provided was accurate, with a little bit of wriggle room. For example, they had no issue with compressing time for the sake of avoiding mind-numbing tedium for the reader, so in fiction their lab test results could come back way quicker than they do in real life. Another reason they liked to be accurate was because no one wanted to have a reader point out an error (and believe me, they do!)
I was surprised that very few authors were worried about potential copycat crimes from their works, or that criminals would learn from their works, but as a number of them put it – people can learn anything they need to know from the internet. And as one author brilliantly put it - the bias of crime readership is towards middle-aged women. The bias of violent criminals is emphatically not!
Has your research had any impact on your own writing - or how you perceive (and read) fiction containing science?
Yes indeed. I was always very careful about accuracy, because I didn’t want to be called out by a reader and made to look like a numpty, but I am probably even more so now. As a reader I have been pretty unforgiving about errors in the science in novels, or the history in historic fiction, and my bull-shit-o-meter is probably even more finely attuned now.
The research made me realise that readers actually really enjoy learning a bit of science, in the right context and if it seamlessly fits into the plot and isn’t info-dumped. I have always liked to weave interesting science into my works, and I will shamelessly make the most of my science background to do that in the future. Hmmmm, I feel a poisoning or two coming on…
About Vanda Symon
Vanda Symon is a crime writer, TV presenter and radio host from Dunedin, New Zealand, and the chair of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. The Sam Shephard series has climbed to number one on the New Zealand bestseller list, and also been shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award for best crime novel. She currently lives in Dunedin, with her husband and two sons.
Find Vanda Symon on her website and on Twitter - @vandasymon
About The Ringmaster
The Ringmaster
By Vanda Symon
Published by Orenda Books (E-book - out now; Paperback - 18 April 2019)
Death is stalking the southern South Island of New Zealand...
Marginalised by previous antics, Sam Shephard, is on the bottom rung of detective training in Dunedin, and her boss makes sure she knows it. She gets involved in her first homicide investigation, when a university student is murdered in the Botanic Gardens, and Sam soon discovers this is not an isolated incident. There is a chilling prospect of a predator loose in Dunedin, and a very strong possibility that the deaths are linked to a visiting circus…
Determined to find out who’s running the show, and to prove herself, Sam throws herself into an investigation that can have only one ending…
Determined to find out who’s running the show, and to prove herself, Sam throws herself into an investigation that can have only one ending…
Here's a snippet from my review: "In summary, The Ringmaster wowed me with its twisty journey, weaving various threads together, right through the shocking, and surprising, ending. This gripping series is a definite 'must read' for me - and anyone else who loves entertaining, humorous crime fiction with plenty of heart."
Read the rest of my review here.
