Please tell a little about yourself and Jellyfish Have Eyes.

Raised in an artistic family (father a cellist; mother a sculptor), I became a research scientist, spending most of my career at the National Institutes of Health. After closing my laboratory 15 years ago, I devoted my time to writing. My literary work crosses borders between science, fiction, and art. In addition to authoring numerous scientific publications, including a book on evolution, I have penned a memoir, a trilogy of novels (starting with Jellyfish Have Eyes), two books of short stories, and a book of essays. I am presently working on a fourth novel.

How did you construct the world(s) within your novel?

I love to play with the relationship between imagination and reality, which forms the basis of my novels and short stories. Jellyfish Have Eyes, and the other novels in the trilogy, mix fantasy and imagination with my lifelong experiences as a research scientist at NIH and in Puerto Rico (as in the novel), where I conducted research on jellyfish. My novels are fictional—yet entirely plausible—stories of how research is drawn together through experimentation, imagination, and narration. Even fantasy plays a role in science. For example, jellyfish seeing evolution, proposed by Ricardo in Jellyfish Have Eyes, is considered too fantastic for reality. However, evolution is written in the genes, suggesting that a yet-to-be-discovered mechanism to read those genes may be a way of “seeing” evolution. Even outrageous suggestions may ultimately prove to have a touch of reality.

How did you research your book?

Jellyfish Have Eyes draws from my wide experiences as a research scientist. I didn’t need additional research about science and its career to write the novel. I did, however, seek knowledge about criminal indictments and trial procedures through discussions with an experienced lawyer.

How has critical and/or reader response influenced the way you think about your work?

Feedback from critics has convinced me (1) that readers prefer science presented as concepts in layman terms they can relate to and as a narrative telling a story that makes sense; (2) that science progresses, like all stories, with interesting characters interacting in scenes; and (3) that characters deal with challenges of overcoming obstacles. Also, I believe surprising twists, including fantasy, often keep readers curious and turning pages. I keep an open mind to possibilities that may seem unlikely at first, but then become important. I hope readers will keep an open mind as well.

Is there anything you would do differently in your next book?

Yes. My next novel, in progress, focuses on consequences of imagination and uncertainty, and for the first time for me, involves two narrators with different perspectives and points of view.

Portions of this Q&A were edited for clarity.