Todd Easterling is an author and businessperson, discovered by the Pinder Lane Garon-Brooke Agency of John Grisham fame. He has worked with leading entertainment and technology companies—a highlight being the reception of a group Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Most recently, wanting to make the best use of the quarantine/lockdown, Todd completed Genetic World—a sweeping epic novel of 444,000 words encompassing real history, real science, and a narrative arc that balances interesting facts with high concept suspense. Since publication, Genetic World has been in the top 1% of sales on Amazon in the USA, and #1 in Medical Thrillers in France (digital/Kindle edition). And on June 17th, Genetic World landed as #1 on three Best Seller lists in Canada, surpassing ten Stephen King novels, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones, and other books.
Todd's personal interests include environmental concerns, animal rights and de-extinction, technology, history, and the arts. He is an adoption advocate and "daughter expert," with seventeen-year-old twins and a twenty-two-year-old daughter who came to America from Novorossiysk Russia when she was two.
Todd's last two books appeared on multiple bestseller lists and in the top 1% of sales on Amazon for over five years (*ebook editions/USA site). The Miracle Man surpassed sales of some of Nicholas Sparks' ebooks, and The First Witness surpassed sales of several of Tom Clancy's ebooks in the first months of release.
His novels have been influenced by experts who kindly provided technical input, such as Sir Ian Wilmut (first scientist to clone a mammal/Dolly the sheep), and Dr. Raul Cano, the scientist who extracted dinosaur DNA from ancient amber—which helped encourage the late great Michael Crichton to write Jurassic Park. Nobel Prize (2020) winning geneticist Jennifer Doudna also kindly provided input on CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing—biotechnology featured in Genetic World, and the focus of acclaimed writer Walter Isaacson’s The Code Breaker (Simon & Schuster New York Times Bestseller released March 9, 2021).
Todd has a special interest in the ways a novel can change the way we think and ultimately the world we live in. Genetic World is such a novel, and the goal was to combine the imaginative "wow factor" of Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park and West World) with the intrigue of historical information of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series (The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Origin, Inferno).
Todd is interested in environmental causes and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, DNA/CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, cloning, and animal de-extinction efforts. He is the proud father of genetically created twin “test-tube babies” (17-year-old daughters) and an adopted daughter from an orphanage in Russia (now 22). His personal experience with biotechnology helped fuel his interest and knowledge of genetics.
About Genetic World (recently completed):
Genetic World is intended as a "big swing" . . . created from the ground up as a mass-market commercial fiction story capable of attracting a broad audience. With a sophisticated narrative arc / story arc, the novel balances suspense/action scenes with a meticulous progression of real-life facts and history which educate, entertain, and support the climax and conclusion.
Although he did not set out to write an “epic” novel (444,000 words), Genetic World required extreme attention to real-world facts and history to support the high concept climax and conclusion. Genetic World is a high-concept suspense story based on years of research on great people from history and their contributions in several sectors (Scientists & Discoverers, Entertainers, Artists, Writers, Athletes, Leaders & Politicians, and Spiritual Leaders).
Genetic World combines real history and locations with a high concept premise encompassing new technologies, an exciting climax, and a surprising conclusion with global impact. Research for the story involved genetics/biotechnologies (CRISPR-Cas9/gene editing), issues facing Earth's species, and the evolution of the world's deities and religions. There was also a review of scholarly research on archeological sites/tombs, and historic sites such as the Pantheon, Saint Peter's Basilica, and its necropolis.
Todd's vision for the project was to create a story that is exciting, supported by science, includes incredible real locations and accurate history, is capable of being marketed to worldwide audiences, and can support broad publishing, motion picture, and merchandise business models. Research for the story included trips to Rome, Florence, Venice, and Pisa Italy, as well as London and Paris.
Additional information about Todd Easterling and his family's business and entertainment interests can be found at www.EasterlingGroup.com .
(inspiration for the story; 12 minutes)
Balboa Park, San Diego, California (November 29, 2020)
Copyright © 2023 Todd Easterling - All Rights Reserved. More information at Easterling Group and Villa Tuscana.