you refer to michael beard as a scoundrel in the text in the novel.ndeed he is but the first few pages of this book, the way you start this book. you come out the gates -- you come out of the block so fast in the opening of this book, i assume that that was by design. you're like oh, my. i mean, you got thievery. again, that's just in the first few pages of the book. >> in the first few pages of the book, his fifth marriage is dissint greating. it is his wife having the affair with the builder. this man is going to play an important part of the plot spending 16 years in jail for no good reason other than he got on the wrong side of michael beard. so, yeah, it is important with a novel to arouse a reader's curiosity and come in with something strong. tavis: you mentioned in this conversation two or three things that really fall in the category of research. so you literally spent time with nobel laureates. >> yeah. tavis: you literally spent time on this ship frozen in the middle of nowhere. >> yeah. tavis: you literally went to new mexico to research t