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This month's question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?
Great question, so I think I'll talk about that!
Actually, I've long had a joke about some of the things we writers of murder mysteries research, and how long it will be before the cops are knocking on my door. But honestly, most of what I've checked for the murders is pretty mundane. You know, drugs that would mimic a heart a attack, drug interactions that might cause an actual heart attack, what time the sun sets in Bellingham in mid-August...
The most fun I've had researching stuff has all gone into a couple of books I've never brought to the point of finishing for publication. One I probably never will, as it is actually a sort of fan fiction: the "other side" of the story of Rilla of Ingleside, the last of the Anne of Green Gables books, set during WWI. I was never satisfied with the behavior of Rilla's love interest, so I spent years researching WWI (from the Canadian point of view where possible), and wrote his version of the story. Along the way I became totally fascinated with WWI, and discovered several writers whose books are set during or just after the war. Maybe sometime I'll write my own historical mystery.
Along the way, in addition to the war, I researched parenting manuals of the period, which make for entertaining reading!
The other unfinished historical fiction is based on my grandmother's childhood. That one I still want to make work, but I'm in no hurry, as historical fiction isn't selling well for kids these days. Maybe that will change? Meanwhile, the story percolates, and I have a large collection of information about Nebraska in 1900 and Okanogan County, WA, in 1908. I even found someone (sadly, the contact info is lost, though I think I still have the information he sent) who could help me figure out how someone would take the train from Nebraska to Spokane.
But the coolest thing I found was a book on life in the Nebraska sandhills, in which the author mentions the best teacher he ever had--my great-grandfather.
Your turn--tell me something you've researched that might get you in trouble or make us laugh.
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| Part of the Nebraska research included visiting the Sand Hills and trying to find the site of the "town" where my great-grandparents lived. Somewhere around here. |
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| Or more like here. This was as close as we were able to drive; the road became too sandy for our 2-wheel-drive. Apologies for photo quality. These are low-quality scans of slides that weren't so good to start with. |
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!
Hmm...something that might get me into trouble. I do read a lot of true crime, and I've heard cops view people who love true crime with suspicion.
ReplyDeleteI think all of us who dabble in crime (writing), whether "serious" or my kind of light stuff, end up doing some research that might raise eyebrows! To be honest, though, it's the historical stuff that is my rabbit hole. I have spent countless hours "researching" for those two books that may not ever see the light of day!
DeleteBoth of those ideas sound interesting, especially the one based on your family.
ReplyDeleteI read - and loved! - all of those Anne of Green Gables books. :)
I still re-read them at times. Which is why I came to be dissatisfied with the final book.
DeleteThanks for this great post. Years ago, I thought I might like to post an article for my blog about government rules. No, not boring, LOL. I'd heard that various countries have some unique and amusing rules about what is legal regarding intercourse. Yep, sex. You'd be amazed at how many times regular folks are committing an illegal act in bed.
ReplyDeletelol I love those old laws - they seem so bizarre. Come to think of it, they'd be useful in my writing, too.... must check them out.
DeleteI see things periodically about such laws that no one has ever bothered to remove from the books. They can be entertaining...and chilling.
DeleteHistorical fiction might not be in vogue, but recreations of one's ancestors' lives is all the rage. Go, girl! And how did you get from Nebraska to Spokane by train then?
ReplyDeleteSlowly! I can't remember the detail now, but I think we figured out that it would take several days. Almost as long as it took them later to get from Spokane to Omak (a much shorter distance, but one they did by horse and wagon. That's right: my grandmother crossed WA state in a covered wagon. Make the history seem a lot less "way back").
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