Sometimes the most compelling stories derive from unexpected circumstances.

Redmond-based author Daniel James Brown, who visited the Port Orchard Library on Friday, said that was the catalyst behind his latest book, “The Boys in the Boat.”

Brown said his neighbor, Judy Willman, approached him during a homeowners’ association meeting and said her father, Joe Rantz, was reading one of his books. Brown agreed to meet with Rantz, who was in hospice at Willman’s house and near the end of his life. Brown said they discussed Rantz’s experience growing up during the Great Depression and rowing for a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics.

At several points during their conversation, Brown said, Rantz began to cry. That emotion, which Brown said is uncharacteristic of that generation, led him to believe there was a great story to share.

“I asked Joe if I could write a book about his life,” he said. “He shook his head. But he said, ‘You can write a book about my boat.’ ”

That “boat” was captured in Brown’s true story of nine University of Washington students who rowed crew in the 1930s. The 404-page book chronicles young adults from diverse backgrounds teamed with a visionary British boat builder, George Pocock, to first defeat collegiate rivals and then the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympics in Berlin. The book, which was published last year by Viking, is much more than a sports saga, though. He said he strived to write a book that detailed life, struggle and “finding the boundary between yourself and a larger purpose.”

On Friday, Brown discussed the roots of the book for about 20 minutes and then spent the rest of the hour fielding questions from the more than 100 people in attendance. He said the book was a “four-year odyssey.”

Because Rantz died shortly after they met, Brown relied on Willman. He said she followed her father around with a notepad and pen for his final years and documented pertinent details of Rantz’s life.

“It was a collaborative effort,” said Brown, adding that he spent countless hours with Willman before publishing the book.

Brown also credited Willman for suggesting that each chapter open with a quote from Pocock. Brown never met Pocock, who died in 1979, but interviewed his son, Stan, to gain insight on him.

“He was the consummate craftsman,” Brown said of UW crew consultant, who created Pocock Racing Shells in 1911. “[He believed] they should race as close to perfection as possible.”

Brown said Pocock Racing Shells became the most sought-after in rowing.

“It’s kind of a mercy that he died then because he was not ready to make the move to fiberglass and carbon fiber from wood,” he said of Pocock.

While rowing might be viewed as a white-collar sport, Rantz grew up poor.

“Joe was the remnant from the previous marriage,” Brown said. “The bird that wasn’t from the nestling was the first to get kicked out.”

Given that predicament, it was difficult for some in the audience to believe that Rantz could afford to attend UW. Brown explained how that was possible.

“It was very important for him to stay on the crew,” he said. “As long as he was on the crew, the University of Washington guaranteed him a part-time job.”

Brown said Rantz later repaired his relationship with his father.

“He thought it was a waste of time and energy to be bitter,” he said. “Everyone says how nice he was. He was a remarkably upbeat, positive young man.”

Instead, Rantz focused on building a better life for himself. After graduating from UW with a degree in mechanical engineering, Rantz moved for a year to California before spending the rest of his career at Boeing.

“He was instrumental in creating clean-air technology for NASA,” Brown said.

Even with those accomplishments, Rantz and most of his teammates were humble. Brown said with the exception of Bobby Mock, who spent rest of his life touting his team’s success, most of the crew placed their gold medals in the sock drawer. Many of their children, Brown said, were not aware of their fathers’ accomplishments.

The team did not receive much recognition outside of the Northwest before winning gold, either. Brown said the Huskies’ Ivy League rivals did not take them seriously.

“There was a thought that Westerners could not rise to the level of blue-blooded oarsman,” he said.

It is a mentality Brown can relate to on a personal level.

“There’s always one extra step Western literary writers must show to get accepted by the East Coast establishment,” he said, noting that his lone negative review came from the Boston Globe. “[My publisher was] concerned that rowing was a niche sport and only would attract a niche audience.”

Brown read Lauren Hillenbrand’s “Seabiscuit” before he wrote, “The Boys in the Boat” because both tell a human and social story using sports as a narrative strand to bind them. He said Hillenbrand even sent a Facebook message praising his work, which he said was the “coolest” experience that came from publishing his book.

One member in the audience asked Brown, who also has published “The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894” in 2006 and “The Indifferent Stars Above, The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Pary Bride” in 2009, about the process he takes to research and write books. Brown said he writes one scene at a time and does in-depth research to accumulate as many details as possible, including reading newspapers from specific dates and learning what time the sun rose and set that day. For his latest book, Brown visited the UW crew house, where he joked they were waiting for someone to write a book on the 1936 team “for about 75 years.”

In many cases, Brown said he has dashed out of the shower to transcribe his latest thought. He also is sympathetic toward his family when he writes.

“I often just stare off at the dinner table,” he said, laughing. “I think it can be very irritating on the other end.”

Brown was mum on his plans for future writing projects, but noted that he sold the rights to his latest book last year.

“It’s looking good for a movie,” said Brown, who would receive credit as a consultant for any onscreen project. “There’s a caveat that you never know with Hollywood.”

They only problem for Brown’s latest script is a resolution. He said his contract entitles him to a pair of tickets for the movie premiere.

The challenge, he joked, is that he has a wife and two daughters.