The importance of research

A writing friend mentioned to me how important proper research is to the process of writing a novel--this is SO true! In my first three books, Wolfmoon series, I did oodles of research on herbalism, wolf behavior, Celtic myth, gods and goddesses, trees and what they can be used for, how to make matches, Scottish slang and sayings, etc...etc... I rarely have a day when I am not consulting the Internet for info on something! How wonderful to have a library at ones fingertips!

Second series, Gypsy, found me looking up Norse myth and worlds and their significance, Norse gods and goddesses, satyrs, Beserkers, the finer points of sailing, Norse holidays in olden days and what they consisted of, more herbs and their lesser known uses, time travel lore, nuclear disasters, etc... And don't forget to call on your friends who might know things that you do not. My brother, a sailor, helped me immensely when I was writing the Gypsy books.

Coyote series took me into Native American myth, the Navajo culture, coyote behavior, native ceremonies...My Witch series led me back in time to Salem of 1693 and what happened there with the hanging of witches. I read about the Pilgrims and the Puritans and the differences between the two, (didn't we learn this in grammar school?), the people who were involved in the witch trials and their roles, and every single person who was hung that year, as well as the Wampanoag culture and the role they played at that time. It paid off, since A Witch in Time Saves Nine, received an honorable mention in the New England Book Festival!

I've learned so much over the course of writing seventeen books, a lot of of it in one ear and out the other, but some of it has stuck. For instance I now know how to start a fire in the wilderness without benefit of matches or even a mirror! (not sure I could actually manage it) I know what an AGA is. I understand Cenotes and their spiritual significance. I know the meaning of Berserker. But, the research I've done for my ghost murder mysteries has been harder for me. For one, I am not a person who knows much about police procedure and there isn't much on the Internet about it--at least it's been hard for me to discover. (And it is not a subject that interests me!) I sought out a retired cop for help on one book--he was invaluable and I dedicated the book to him. I'm lucky, since my ghost murder mystery/romances are really NOT about that aspect--they are more about relationship, and ghosts, with some police procedure thrown in for good measure. And how do you research ghosts? I have to admit my heart lies in the fantasy realm where I can draw on my very active imagination--😈


My latest book, (second in witch series)The Moon in Her Eyes, is taking me to Luxembourg, a place I've never been...(a beautiful place, by the way) It has also placed me within the anomalies of time travel--I've been fudging it a bit, trying to work out what might happen if...and of course more research on the Wampanoag and their various evil and good spirits. I actually love the research part of writing, although I have to admit that sometimes it can get a bit tedious...

So in summing up, do your research, because without it a story won't have the believability it might otherwise. And whatever you do, keep on writing!

Thanks for reading!

coming soon: A Witch in Time saves Nine

Pre-publishing publicity here! This book will be out in a couple of weeks! I had a lot of fun researching the Salem witch trials and the Wampanoag Indians who lived in or near Salem in 1692.
Here is a short excerpt to whet your appetite:

I gathered my dark wool cloak around me and pulled the hood up before heading away from the gruesome scene. I didn’t want to take the chance of being noticed by those searching for others to execute. The town square was filled with gawkers, young and old, who had come to see Nettie hang.  I could hear them even now, their cries of ‘death to the witch!’ making me feel sick. According to the court’s findings, Nettie was doing the devil’s work.

She still hung suspended, her swan-like neck broken, long blonde hair in filthy tangles down her back from the time she spent in the dungeon, her body limp and swinging. I ran, only pausing before the bridge to catch my breath, wondering if my stomach would turn on me, but the feeling subsided.

If they wanted a real witch they should have picked me. If they knew I was able to travel through time I would have been burned or hung along with her. But I’d taken care to stay out of sight as much as I could.  As it was they had chosen the sweetest most innocent person I’d ever come across, a young woman who wouldn’t hurt a fly. If she hadn’t been associating with the likes of me this never would have come about. I swept away tears with my sleeve and started across the bridge, but when I was half way across a hand clamped down on my shoulder.

“Emeline Chase, why are you here?”

Over my shoulder I stared into the face of Nettie’s original accuser, now my neighbor, Jonas Hale. He was the one who’d reported her to the authorities and kept up with his accusations until she was tried and found guilty. Nettie had done nothing but show me how to turn herbs into oils, the pungent odor of these bringing Jonas running from his house a mile away. He was sure we were brewing up some kind of potions, his cry of “witch!” carrying on the wind and bringing others to our door. When Nettie was dragged away I begged and pleaded with the ones who took her, but their stares of hatred made my blood run cold.

His skin was florid as though he’d been running, probably to catch me. He was overweight and probably forty years of age, his fine waistcoat straining over his protruding stomach. I shook free and faced him. “You bear all the responsibility for killing an innocent young woman.”

He let out a low laugh. “I only took her to the court, nothing more. She had the mark of the devil on her cheek. We both know who the real culprit is though, do we not? I had hoped you would come forward to save her, but instead you decided to save yourself.”

“Why did you never accuse me, then?”

His piggy eyes narrowed even further. “I have told them of how you vanish as though taken by the wind and then return dressed in odd clothing, and yet they never come for you. Why is this, Emeline?”

I stared at him, surprised that he’d actually seen me disappear. I’d been sure my comings and goings from the twenty-first century were done in secret. This was not good. “I merely came here to see if there was a way to save an innocent woman. You hang the ones who never did a thing wrong. Look to your own kind if you want to find evil.  I hate you and all you stand for.”

“Remember, Emeline, it was Goody Putnam who gave Nettie away, not I. Hate me all you want, but I will eventually bring you to justice. You and the others.”

“What others?” When I shook my head my hood feel back, revealing my dark hair filled with red streaks. But that was not where his focus had gone. The breeze had come up, blowing the thick bangs off my forehead and revealing the tiny blue spiral tattoo.

Jonas’s eyes went wide and he crossed himself. “You bear the mark of the devil,” he hissed, backing away. “Be assured you will come to justice.”

I laughed and hurried across the bridge, leaving him to his religious nonsense.

Paradox

I'm 130 pages into Gypsy's Return and having one hell of a time. For one thing I'm out of my depth. I am not a sci-fi writer and yet I'm tackling a time-travel tale that encompasses all sorts of social and political themes. For instance, how do events in the past effect the future? Does anyone know the answer to this? The possibilities are endless. I was at first trying to follow a logical trajectory but have since decided that the law of unintended consequences is a better way to go. That way I don't have to explain why effecting a change for the better in genetic engineering policies led to a repressive and intolerant future. (what?)

And every day I find more fodder for my book. This is the first time I can look at what's going on in the world without being overly upset. The themes of global warming, poverty, frakking, mining disasters, over-population, depletion of natural resources, including water, are all perfect for my book. My heroine is attempting to make things better for future generations but what she doesn't realize is that serendipity can skew things wildly one way or the other. There is no straight line to anything.

The other paradox of all this is that the people in the future either have or don't have a memory of the world that was destroyed by past events...As the writer, I ask myself, what gives some the ability to recall a past that no longer exists? And what is it that keeps some from remembering? Or maybe, if I was writing logically, no one should remember. But if no one remembers how do I have interaction between my heroine and those she once knew in the future? aargh...

If anyone has a comment/answer to any of these questions I would be thrilled to hear it! And thanks for reading...

What to do when it's finished?

So what now? Like many of you who have finished a very long drawn out project, I'm finding myself a bit exhausted and somewhat bored. Of course marketing is taking up a lot of my time, what with tweeting every day--I overpaid for my books being listed on the askDavid site and so I had a choice--refund or 90 tweets? I took the latter and I'm glad I did--I would never have tweeted this much! and I'm beginning to understand the fascination! For those who don't know about askDavid it's worth a click.

I've been having problems with my Wordpress website and the person I thought was helping went MIA. And so my niece Megan, who does website design, put me on to a great guy--Dan Fennell, who has nearly gotten things straightened out. His prices are reasonable and he's fast! It seems that my admin access was severely limited so that I couldn't upgrade the site when it needed to be. We're moving it to another hosting site and changing that little problem. As Dan said, even if I don't want to be a web designer I should have complete access to my own website. If any of you need help with Wordpress check him out! ( I can't imagine anybody NOT needing help with Worldpress!)

The sequel is progressing slowly--it keeps heading off in odd directions and I keep trying to tame it. Guess it's better to just give it the reins and let it run and then edit later. Right now I have a ghost, a sorceress, time travel, a magical boat, norse mythology, dwarves, an evil that has yet to be determined but only comes out at night, and an ancient city that was abandoned due to pollution--oh, and a druid who is over 400 years old. So far only one POV, though--a first for me!

So how do you deal with finishing a project? do you jump right into the next one or do you rest and recuperate?