Helen Vettori’s science-fiction thrillers are centered on something called a “black swan event,” which is a catastrophe that seems to appear out of nowhere. It’s hard to imagine a professional background that would contribute to such worldbuilding in a novel. How do you get experience in events that are, by definition, unprecedented?

But Vettori, who was born, raised, and has always worked in and around Washington, D.C., has been an EMT, a paramedic, and even an emergency manager for the Department of Homeland Security. Anticipating unprecedented disasters was literally her job. And though her Black Swan series is set in the future, the event that sets off the plot in the second installment, Black Swan Shock, is all too realistic: a devastating earthquake.

Dr. Syria Case, the epidemiologist heroine from the first book, Black Swan Impact, begins the book at a keynote event where she is in discussion with the CEO of a construction corporation, debating disaster preparedness and the importance of being ready to react to emergencies, not simply prevent them:

For the past two decades, the procedure of packing a compound mixture of xycastricum and tetralobite into faults stopped or greatly scaled back the magnitude of earthquakes. With such positive results, the measure was embraced worldwide. Most agreed that controlled tremors combined with innovative engineering standards and techniques for structures solved the issues associated with earthquakes, thereby giving people living within those zones a sense of security.

In short, humankind believed they were immune from significant calamities. However, Dr. Syia Case, a highly respected scientist, occasionally emerged back into the limelight to deliver her warning.

Dr. Case, who has experienced the effects of a terrible earthquake herself, attempts to prove that even the futuristic technologies used to eliminate earthquakes don’t make emergency readiness unnecessary. Of course, if those in power took her seriously, there wouldn’t be a reason for the book to continue. Instead, Case and her family are forced to act—and to save as many people as they can—when an earthquake devastates the American Midwest.

Kirkus Reviews says that Black Swan Shock is “an intense, futuristic thriller that recalls the best of 1970s disaster cinema,” but also notes that “Vettori’s detailed disaster-themed tale could conceivably prepare some present-day readers for real-life disasters.” To Vettori, her real-life expertise isn’t just added flair for her books. She takes seriously the opportunity to provide practical, and possibly lifesaving, advice.

“My goal is for readers to determine whether they are ready for catastrophes via subliminal and overt elements,” she says, citing the example of her character Marla Case, Dr. Case’s daughter. Marla is an Olympic athlete with Down Syndrome, who is separated from her mother during the earthquake. But Marla’s elite athleticism combined with straightforward education in first aid allow her to be an enormous help to the people around her. Vettori wants readers to learn from Marla’s actions in the plot, but she also includes more direct educational materials at the end of the book. The last few pages include a readiness assessment so readers can evaluate (with the help of Vettori’s professional advice) how to address gaps in their readiness for both worldwide natural disasters (e.g., an earthquake), and more personal disasters like a house fire.

Vettori thinks of creating and consuming art as therapeutic. When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, Vettori archly describes herself as having been “perplexed” by the federal government’s response as time went on. “I knew what had been planned and prepared for a potential pandemic event,” she says, referencing her professional experience creating those very plans and policies. When she saw such a deep divide between the work she had done and what was actually being executed, she would “rant and rave over Zoom calls with my family, and one day my sister suggested to me that there was a story there.”

Vettori brushed off her sister’s suggestion at first, but then she tried journaling, and then the contents of her journal became fiction when she tried projecting what she knew onto fictional people in fictional scenarios. The story that became Black Swan Impact, the first book in the series, was about a pandemic; however, it was set in a science-fiction future so as to not make it painful for readers to reimmerse themselves in memories of COVID-19 lockdowns.

Much of the second book, Black Swan Shock, centers on Marla’s experience in a disaster situation as a person with Down Syndrome. Vettori’s neighbor, a young woman with Down Syndrome, once greeted her as she set out on a walk during the highest COVID-19 restrictions. Her neighbor expressed such brightness and cheer—even over social-distancing requirements—that Vettori felt a little less downtrodden. She was inspired to include not just Marla’s bright personality amid difficult circumstances, but her particular set of challenges and strengths in the context of a desperate situation. As Vettori walked and wondered what type of black swan event would work well for her next book, she stumbled over an uneven sidewalk, and inspiration struck: What about an earthquake?

Vettori herself has never experienced an earthquake, but of course, being ready for disaster is all about predicting things you haven’t experienced. She researched primary sources, including materials from the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–1812, to immerse herself not just in the science but also in the real personal experiences of the people who were there. Vettori says that characters like Marla and their actions in the midst of catastrophe are the real drive behind her stories, not just the events themselves. In fact, she says the only reason she even wrote a second book was because her characters wanted her to keep going.

“I never set out to write a novel,” she says, “but once I started writing, it just flowed. The characters drove everything.” Vettori describes allowing her creativity to run free, without judgment, so she could see different options and storylines and choose which path she thought would be best. Her books are novels with a mission to inspire disaster preparedness in her readers, but they are still creative, artistic projects.

Vettori also has wisdom to share with readers about recovering from the trauma caused by disasters. While there has been improvement in our collective understanding and treatment of PTSD, many of Vettori’s most difficult experiences at work took place before we knew the importance of psychological care for first responders as well as direct victims.

Vettori says that the best advice she can give, other than seeking the care of medical professionals, is to find ways to experience calm and peace. For her, that peace can even come from reading thrillers like the ones she writes. “I love to be able to try and figure out who did what, when, where, and why,” she says. “It’s kind of an academic exercise, but an enjoyable one.”

It makes perfect sense that exploring and learning about how to be ready for the unexpected would not just be relaxing but also fun, and readers who feel the same have the third book in the Black Swan trilogy to look forward to. Kirkus Reviews picked up on a “bit of mystery” in Black Swan Shock that might be further explored. The book, which is finished and currently in revision, is called Black Swan Terror and will continue to embody Vettori’s love for a good thriller with her passion for education about emergency preparedness.

Chelsea Ennen is a writer living in Brooklyn.