A couple of weeks ago at an author event, someone asked me what kind of research I do for my books. I love this question. Research is one of my favorite parts of writing. Curiosity has always been an intrinsic part of who I am, and I find that when writing a story, there is built-in direction and motivation for me to learn new things. Granted, I did very little research for Missing. The years spent living and working in Chicago covered pretty much everything I needed to know. For Stolen, however, I was largely ignorant of the locations and procedures I was planning to write about. Fortunately, there is Google. I used Google maps to familiarize myself with certain neighborhoods. I read about the Chicago Police Department and how it is structured. I discovered facts about the Field Museum that I didn't already know, specifically, the bits about their storage facility. But Google is only a beginning. As Gray says, "Real investigation inevitably takes you into the field." It is far easier to write about that which you have first hand knowledge. Last summer, I went to Las Vegas for vacation. I have a plan for a new series that will be set there, so I took lots of notes and pictures, especially of the Mirage hotel, where the main character will live. Unfortunately, I no longer live in Chicago, so visiting these places to research Stolen wasn't an option. I could, however, talk to people who did live there. I reached out to the Prior of the Monastery of the Holy Cross to get a virtual tour, and he was extremely helpful in describing the layout and the day to day life of the brothers. I also had a sit down with a lieutenant at my local police department to discuss procedures, paperwork, and how someone could bury a case. He was a font of information both related and not. He also scared the crap out of me when he talked about some of the stuff that happens in our town. I had another meeting with him this morning to talk about ideas for the next book. It's important to me that I get certain facts and procedures correct. As a result, I'm going to have to change the timeline of the next story. To an extent. I reserve the right to take certain artistic liberties. After all, I do write fiction that is only loosely based in reality, but I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
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A lot has happened since the last time I posted so I'll try to boil it down for you. Stolen officially launched in March. I attended two author events at local libraries and had a launch party last month. I was thrilled to have several fans show up that had purchased copies of Missing from bookstores and were there to get the next one.
I ran a free promo for Missing in mid-May and reached #1 in Paranormal Mystery. That jumpstarted a number of purchases and May was the best month I've had since starting this whole writing thing. It's far from bestseller status, but it's a step in the right direction. I also directed the new Murder Mystery dinner theatre which occupied me for the month of April and finished up the school year. A lot of authors write quickly and do what is called a rapid release of a series. It's a sound marketing tactic designed to drive lots of traffic in a short period of time. I'm not one of those authors. Missing took 10 years to write. Stolen took 2. I'd love to say that I'll have the third book out in the next year, but I kind of doubt it. What I can say is that I've started on it. My writing process begin with outlining. I discovered early on that I need to have a solid plan for how the story will plat out before I start writing it. That doesn't mean that I always follow the plan, but it's a place to start. So since I finished Stolen, I've been musing over the plot of the next book. I have about half of it plotted out, but it's that pesky second half that's giving me trouble. Too many possibilities, too many paths that could be taken. But I have started writing. Hopefully, I'll have the ending figured out by the time I get to the halfway point. I have a lot of research to do in the meantime. I hope to get some insights from a real detective as well as a District Attorney. I'm not giving any spoilers or insights into what will happen yet, but stay tuned for teasers. |
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