32 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 15-21, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com LIT A scientist and a novelist inhabiting the same body? Contrary to common belief, scientists and doctors can make for wonderful novelists—precise and usually knowledgeable on the subject of their fiction. Such is the case with James Lindholm, the James W. Rote Distinguished Professor of Marine Science and Policy and the chair of the Department of Marine Science at CSU Monterey Bay, who just published his fourth in the Chris Black adventures series. The new work is titled Calypso Down. And like all of Lindholm’s novels, marine research and real-life adventures are at its core. “I knew from an early age that I wanted to do something related to the ocean,” California-born Lindholm says. “I planned to go to law school to study international law regarding ocean policy. But I was also attracted to field work. My current job is an intersection of science and policy.” He also wanted to write; his mother started reading spy novels to him while he was still in elementary school. They left a strong impression. And when he got tenure, he decided it’s time to write a novel. “It was not a dramatic shift,” he says about switching from policy writing to fiction. His main character, Chris Black, is a marine scientist from Monterey. “I always say that Chris Black is taller than me and has more hair,” he jokes when asked if he is writing about his alter ego. Other characters are also modeled on his colleagues and based on the adventures he experienced, working on six out of seven continents. His first book, Into A Canyon Deep, is based in Monterey Bay, but the next volumes take readers to South Africa or the Cocos Islands, 300 miles offshore from Costa Rica, where huge amounts of pirate treasures are buried and where Michael Crichton based Jurassic Park. The fifth book— Lindholm is already five chapters in— takes the readers back to Carmel. All his novels are about what happens when scientists encounter bad actors, such as today’s pirates or unethical companies. “I provide real science but not in an overwhelming amount,” Lindholm says. “In courtroom thrillers, they don’t show you how tedious the law is. Just like in medical thrillers, you don’t have to be a doctor to understand.” Calypso Down and other books by James Lindholm are available at local bookstores and online. RICK STARR Get It Write A local scholar mixes real science and imagined adventures in a series of novels. By Agata Pop˛eda James Lindholm made all his dreams come true. A diver and surfer, he is a professor of marine science at CSUMB, and now an author of four novels, based on his adventures. UPseaside.com 1760 Fremont Blvd, seaside For leasing opportunities call (415) 730-3917 University Plaza SeaSide’S LifestyLe Shopping Center Order Online at HarumiSeaside.Menu11.com • (831) 899-9988 Open Daily fOr lunch & Dinner Only the finest andthe Freshest Beer Garden LeaGues TournamenTs Beer Garden LeaGues TournamenTs LynnsArcAde.com 1760 Fremont BLvd. ste d1, seAside Monthly MeMbership - $100 Daily pinball pass - $20 (aDult) $15 (chilD/stuDent/Military hourly pinball - $10 private parties - $10 tuesDay RESTAURANT ’23 VOTED Best Thai Food 6 Times! Enjoy Fresh and Flavorful Cuisine Lunch: Mon-Fri 11am-2:30pm Dinner: Mon-Thu 4:30-8pm Fri 4:30-8:30pm, Sat 12-9pm Last seating 15 mins before closing 1760 Fremont Blvd #F1 • Seaside • University Plaza • 394-2996 • BaanThaiSeaside.com
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