I am fascinated by research which uncovers or recasts unknown events. Historical research "Girls Club Holiday House" discovered what local runes were in the forest of Washington, CT. My investigation of Ted Kennedy's tragedy at the Chappaquiddick bridge showed he was nowhere near the car when Mary Jo drove into the water. (He was walking back to the party.) And "Ballard's War" is an intensively researched WW-II what-if? thriller that depicts the hero trying to help Hitler win the war--for very strange reasons. If Ballard did something on Wednesday, Dec 12th, I would check the calendar to make sure December 12th really was a Wednesday!

The point is that with complicated plots--the most interesting--everything has to work out naturally (no Deus ex machina!). The result, at least for me, is the satisfaction like that which comes with a perfect five-course dinner.