I enjoy digging into new and interesting things. Here’s an idea of what kind of research I’ve done for recent books:
The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman. A woman’s fiction with strong elements of suspense and romance:
- Tattoos–what would work and what wouldn’t. A design of my own or a pre-designed one?
- West Virginia and whatever information I could find to give me a feel for the state
- Cults–interesting in that I was able to speak with two people who had a “light” connection with them. I eventually created my own, but the research gave me the knowledge I needed to stay on target
- Poisonous flowers
Hog Insane, Book One of my Alex and Denton Davies mystery series:
- Pigeon Forge, Tennessee area. Harley bikes.
Bat Crazy, which will release spring of this year:
- Vampire bats. New Mexico. Geological digs. Old Maps.
With Music in Their Hearts, book One of my three book Spy series:
- Men’s hats. Women and men’s clothing. Volunteer jobs. The dates of war events and radio programs, Phrases and words specific to the 1940s. Popular songs.
A Flute in the Willows, book Two of my three book Spy series, tentative release date: fall, 2015:
- Ice skating. Flutes.
Why would any one want to go to so much trouble? Two reasons come to mind:
Accuracy in your novel/book which means readers can trust that your book will be true to the facts that are relevant to your fiction.
- Trustworthy author which means your faithful readers know they can trust you to give them a book–and another and another–that is enjoyable and a good read with few or NO errors that take them out of the story. Even those who make allowance will enjoy the novel much better without that niggling bit of “wrong” because of your failure as an author to find the truth in the year or event or other bit of information to make the story as correct as possible
Is research hard? Boring? Time consuming? Perhaps. But it’s part of being an author, and I’ll end this post with my title for the topic: embrace research or shun it. It’s an author’s choice, but I contend that a good–a great–author embraces it and uses it to their best ability to be the best!
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Besides being a member and active participant of many writing groups, Carole Brown enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?
Connect with her here:
Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaroleBrown.author