By Sarah Sundin When writing historical fiction, we need to research with both the eye of the bird and the eye of the worm. A bird soars high. It sees for miles in all directions and senses what’s happening in many places, but it’s detached from the action. The worm sits in its little spot in the ground, aware of …
How Did They Do That?
By Kimberley Woodhouse I’m always fascinated with research. It’s one of my favorite things to do in my career. I find it so easy to get sucked in by an interesting time in history, an amazing person, or an absolutely breathtaking location. But if I had to give one piece of advice about research it would be this: Go visit …
Tips for Researching and Writing an Authentic Novel
By Amy Clipston I’ve written Amish fiction for more than ten years now, since I received my contract for my first book, A Gift of Grace, on Dec. 14, 2007. I decided to try to write Amish fiction after being inspired by a novel written by another Amish author. Since I grew up in New Jersey and had visited Amish …
From Breathing Britain to Immersion in the Civil War
By Glynn Young Researching a historical novel is more than a challenge; it feels like a career. I’ve written four novels in a series, with the main characters staying intact throughout. Buzzing around my head is the fifth, but I’m departing from the series to do something completely different. The new project is still a novel, but it’s not even …
Smell-O-Vision Research
By Kim Gilliland I am certain whatever genre of writing you favor there is some amount of research required. In today’s world that probably means getting online and typing in a phrase or word into your search engine. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo, pretty much anything you’ll ever need to know is instantaneously at your fingertips. …
Mixing Truth in Fiction
By Jodie Wolfe As a reader and writer of historical romance, I’m one of those people who read the author notes at the end of the book to discover which part of the story is based on various historical happenings or true stories. There’s always a risk as an author when you use real tales and events. I tend to …
Confessions of a Research Fanatic
By Kathleen Denly Most campers pray for clear skies and pleasant weather. The summer before my senior year of high school, however, I was fervently praying for a rainstorm. Not just any rainstorm. I wanted a gully-washing downpour that would cause the nearby river to wipe out our current tent site. You may think this was because I hated camping …
The Joy of Research
by Kimberley Woodhouse Research. It’s a chore to some people and a delight to others. I happen to fall into the latter camp although I must admit that sometimes I get so sucked into it that I lose track of time. Or get obsessed with something that leads me to another fascinating tidbit that leads to an incredible fact that …
Celebrate Independence Day!
By Carrie Stuart Parks Happy 4th of July! My new book, Formula of Deception, will have released yesterday. In it are some historical facts that I researched and I’d like to reflect on as we celebrate our independence. A theme of my writing is to show how events of the past impact the present. Although I may start my research …
Choose a Setting You Love
By H.L. Wegley Thirty-eight years ago, my wife and I and our three kids boxed up enough supplies for a week and headed for Lake Chelan in Central Washington, a glacier-fed lake, fifty-five miles long, nestled snugly between Cascade Mountain peaks. We rode the big boat, Lady of the Lake, and planned to camp in the wilderness, free from the …