What Inspired The Author To Write 'Dig'?

The inspiration behind 'Dig' is more layered than people realize. The author has openly discussed how their grandfather's WWII diaries planted the initial seed—those fragmented accounts of soldiers literally digging trenches while digging into their own psyches. This generational trauma concept evolved into the novel's dual narrative structure, alternating between a modern-day archaeologist and a 1940s prisoner of war.

What fascinates me is how the author researched real archaeological scandals to shape the plot. They spent months studying the infamous 'Piltdown Man' hoax, which directly inspired the novel's central artifact controversy. The way institutions manipulate history became a core theme. The protagonist's obsession with truth mirrors the author's own journalistic background—they worked as an investigative reporter before turning to fiction.

Environmental degradation also plays a surprising role. The author grew up watching wetlands being drained for development, which influenced the novel's subplot about ancient bogs preserving secrets. That visceral image of mud preserving skeletons became the book's most powerful metaphor—how truth eventually surfaces, no matter how deeply buried.

From what I gathered, 'Dig' was born from the author's love of unconventional detective stories. They wanted to write a mystery where the crime scene was time itself. The spark came during a pottery class—the instructor mentioned how clay preserves fingerprints for millennia, which became the novel's pivotal clue. This tactile detail shows their signature style: finding profound meaning in physical labor.

The protagonist's backstory as a former miner reflects the author's Appalachian roots. Those coal country legends about hollow earth and lost caverns directly inspired the novel's underground labyrinths. What's brilliant is how they inverted traditional treasure hunt tropes—here, the real gold isn't artifacts, but uncomfortable truths about colonization's legacy.

Music unexpectedly shaped the narrative too. The author built the entire second act around listening to Delta blues records, those raw songs about buried secrets and unmarked graves. You can feel that rhythmic quality in the prose—short, digging sentences that uncover layers like archaeological strata.

'Dig' seems to stem from a personal fascination with archaeology and hidden histories. The author mentioned growing up near ancient ruins, sparking a lifelong curiosity about buried secrets. They wanted to explore how uncovering the past can shatter present-day illusions. The novel's gritty tone mirrors their own experiences working odd jobs before becoming a writer—those years of digging through life's dirt clearly influenced the protagonist's voice. What's really clever is how they wove in themes of class struggle, inspired by watching gentrification erase neighborhood histories in their hometown.