FaithfulReader.com

Tim Downs

BIO

Tim Downs is a professional speaker and writer and has worked as anationally syndicated cartoonist for fourteen years. His first book, FINDING COMMON GROUND,was awarded the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association's prestigious Gold Medallion Award. He has coauthored two other works of nonfiction with his wife, Joy. Tim and Joy and on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ and live in Cary, North Carolina, with their three children.

INTERVIEW

February 10, 2005

FaithfulReader.com's contributing writer Marcia Ford interviewed Tim Downs, author of the "Bug Man" novels. Downs discusses his inspiration for Nick Polchak --- the protagonist in this series --- the unusual research he conducted for these books, and details of his next novel, PLAGUE MAKER. He also describes the process of co-writing two nonfiction books with his wife, Joy, and talks about the marriage and parenting conferences that he and Joy conduct throughout the country.

FaithfulReader.com: Nick Polchak, the protagonist in your two "Bug Man" novels (SHOOFLY PIE and CHOP SHOP), is among the more intriguing and unusual characters in Christian fiction. Who did you have in mind when you created him?

Tim Downs: Nick is an amalgam of the real-life forensic entomologists I've interviewed. They're brilliant people, with remarkable memories and an eye for the smallest detail. They're also eccentric people; after all, these are people who decided to get a Ph.D. in bugs! They're not policemen, they're not investigators, they're not even pathologists --- and that means they don't exactly "fit" in a traditional crime investigation. I rolled all those eccentricities together into one quirky, unpredictable character.

FR: At the time you were writing SHOOFLY PIE, forensic entomology was a little-known science. The book released just as the "CSI" series of TV shows were gaining popularity and forensic entomology began to be featured in many of the segments. How do you think that may have given readers a greater understanding for, or appreciation of, your books? Do your readers now see you as an expert on entomology? Do they try to engage you in CSI-like conversations?

TD: I wrote SHOOFLY PIE before "CSI" first aired, but my book wasn't published until after the show began. Now there are all kinds of forensic shows on TV, and I think viewers/readers are much more knowledgeable about forensic science than they used to be. I'm often asked if I was trained in entomology or pathology, and it surprises people when I tell them I studied Art! I learned my forensic entomology through research and firsthand interviews with people who work in this field. I even attended an entomology workshop for coroners and crime scene investigators where we were trained to collect insect evidence at a crime scene.

FR: What was it like attending the two-day "maggot school" in order to research your books?

TD: It was held in a small town in rural Indiana. We met in the morning at an American Legion hall. For the first half of the day we were shown slides of horrendous murder scenes while they served Krispy Kremes in the back of the room. But then, these people were veterans of a lot of murder investigations --- they were immune to this kind of thing! In the afternoon we went out to a farm where dead pigs were strewn about in various stages of decomposition. We were each assigned a "victim," and our job was to collect and preserve the appropriate insects. The workshop traditionally ends with a pig roast --- like I said, they're immune.

FR: Imagine either book being made into a movie. Which actor do you see portraying Nick Polchak?

TD: Because the stories are so visual, people naturally imagine them as movies --- and I get a lot of casting suggestions! Someone said Nicholas Cage; I think Johnny Depp would be interesting. It would have to be someone with that quirky side to him.

FR: Before the release of your first "Bug Man" novel, you had written several nonfiction books. What was it like to make the transition from nonfiction to fiction?

TD: It was fun! Writing nonfiction is like driving a train; there are tracks to run on, you have requirements and restrictions. Writing fiction is like driving a bumper car. Where do you want to go today? What do you want to crash into? I love the creativity of it: the research, the plotting, the dialogue --- I love everything about it.

FR: FINDING COMMON GROUND (subtitled "How to Communicate with Those Outside the Christian Community�While We Still Can") won an ECPA Gold Medallion Award in the missions/evangelism category in 2000. That book still is considered one of the best books on being real with people as we attempt to share Jesus with them. In your work with Campus Crusade, and your observation of the Christian community, how are we doing at sharing the gospel with others? Has there been a noticeable improvement in how we evangelize?

TD: Every generation has to learn to evangelize all over again, because the values and attitudes of every generation of listeners change. Christians have to learn to communicate timeless truths to a constantly changing audience. That's not easy! One of the reasons I decided to write fiction is that it allows me to communicate in a form that I think is currently very powerful --- through story. I think that's what this generation of Christians is discovering: We have to move whole people with the gospel --- not just minds, but hearts too.

FR: Two of your nonfiction books, FIGHT FAIR! Winning at Conflict Without Losing at Love, and THE SEVEN CONFLICTS: Resolving the Most Common Disagreements in Marriage, were co-authored with your wife, Joy. What was that process like --- would co-writing a book qualify as the eighth conflict, or was it a relatively painless experience?

TD: When we first discussed those projects my wife said, "Are you sure you want to write these books together?" I said, "Of course --- you've been a big part of every conflict we've ever had."

Seriously, the process was painless --- but complex. I would write a chapter and she would edit it; then she would write a chapter and send it to me for my suggestions. We would both collect quotes, articles, ideas, then dump them all on the table and see what we could assemble. What a process! I don't think I could write a novel that way.

FR: Any possibility that you'll write another book together, perhaps one focusing more on parenting?

TD: It's always possible. For now, I'm focusing on fiction --- but we take it one book at a time.

FR: Tell us about the marriage and parenting conferences you and Joy conduct throughout the country.

TD: Joy and I speak at conferences called "A Weekend to Remember," hosted by a group called FamilyLife. They're weekend-long conferences that help couples develop the skills and perspective they need to have a great marriage. That's why we wrote the two books on conflict --- it's one of the topics we discuss at these conferences. We've done these conferences for almost twenty years now, and they're great fun. Your readers can learn more about the date and location of a conference in their area at FamilyLife's website, www.familylife.com.

FR: You used to produce a syndicated comic strip called DOWNSTOWN. Any interest in returning to that art form?

TD: I drew about 3,000 comic strips in my career, and I doubt I'll do more. I'm getting the same creative fulfillment from fiction writing --- and I get to write more than four frames a day!

FR: Do your novels "emerge," as some authors describe the process, or do you plot them out in detail in advance?

TD: I definitely plot them in advance. The plots I assemble are fairly intricate, and I can't imagine just allowing them to "emerge." Maybe a chess grand master could do it, but not me! I begin every novel with a thorough plot summary, where I (hopefully) work out all my plot problems before I begin writing. The plot summary for my next novel, PLAGUE MAKER, is forty pages long --- and I just drop it in the trash when the book is done.

FR: What does your writing routine involve?

TD: First comes reading, online research, and interviews --- that takes place over a period of three or four months, depending on what else is going on in my schedule. Then comes the writing. I try to write 2,000-2,500 words per day of good, clean text, and I keep a spreadsheet to keep me on track. PLAGUE MAKER is just less than 500 pages (in manuscript form). I wrote it in 58 days over a three-month period.

FR: Tell us about a little about PLAGUE MAKER. Will Nick Polchak make an appearance in that book?

TD: Nick makes an appearance --- though only in one chapter. PLAGUE MAKER is a bioterrorism story. The central characters are Nathan Donovan, a counterterrorism agent with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York City, and his ex-wife, Macy Monroe, a professor at Columbia University and an expert in the psychology of terrorism. The story is about an attempted biological attack on New York City. Like the Bug Man stories, I did a lot of research for this book, including interviews with actual counterterrorism agents in New York. It's scary stuff --- and fascinating.

FR: What are your plans for additional books in the "Bug Man" series?

TD: I've signed to do my next three novels with Westbow. PLAGUE MAKER is the first; the next two are undetermined yet. I definitely plan to do more stories with Nick; it's just a question of when.

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