Catherine Astolfo's Blog, page 6

Research Part 2: Guest Author Kristina Stanley

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I'm thrilled to have her here as a guest to talk about research, my pet topic this summer.</i><br /><i></i><br /><br />Catherine has asked me to talk about researching my novel <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Descent-Stone-Mo..." target="_blank">DESCENT</a>, so let’s talk research.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yjurKjbSD84..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yjurKjbSD84..." width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">We’ve all heard the saying <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">write what you know</i>. Well, I think it should be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">write what you love</i>. If you’re not interested in something, and I mean deeply interested, how can you spend endless hours researching and writing your novel?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In order of fun and importance, my methods of research are:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Life experience</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Interviewing experts</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Online research</li></ul><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Being the director of security in an isolated ski resort inspired me to write the Stone Mountain Mystery series. I lived the life for almost six years and paid attention to what happened around me. I wrote the first in the series, <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Descent-Stone-Mo..." target="_blank">DESCENT</a>, after I moved from the ski resort to a sailboat in the Bahamas.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Descent-Stone-Mo..." target="_blank">DESCENT</a>, there is skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, night hikes, employee terminations, medical emergencies and interactions with RCMP. Due to my job and my lifestyle, I’ve participated in all these things. This provided the basis of facts. Then comes the imagination. One dead ski racer, many suspects: all the more believable because the underlying story is believable.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">When using real life experience, I was careful not to write about actual events or people. The trick is to use an event to spark the imagination, turn it into something evil or dangerous, exaggerate it, expand it, and go from there.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Now here’s an important research tip. Keep in touch with all you work or play with. This group of people will become your experts. After I left the resort I interviewed ski technicians, RCMP constables, snowmakers, lift operators and security officers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>When I needed details, these people were there for me. I found most were happy to contribute to the process of writing a novel. In return, they get mentioned in the acknowledgement section of <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Descent-Stone-Mo..." target="_blank">DESCENT</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Online research is my last resort. For <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Descent-Stone-Mo..." target="_blank">DESCENT</a>, I used the Internet to ensure I used the right language for a skier aiming to be part of the Alpine Canada ski adventure. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">So why not descend into fiction and order a copy of DESCENT at amazon.com, amazon.ca or the amazon hosted in your country? To entice you, here is what DESCENT is about:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRmnp-saMIE..." style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="213" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Descent-Stone-Mo... style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0f0f0f;">When Kalin Thompson is promoted to Director of Security at Stone Mountain Resort, she soon becomes </span>entangled in the high-profile murder investigation of <span style="color: #0f0f0f;">an up-and-coming Olympic-caliber skier. There are more suspects with motives than there are gates on the super-G course, and danger mounts with every turn.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0f0f0f;">Kalin’s boss orders her to investigate. Her boyfriend wants her to stay safe and let the cops do their job. Torn between loyalty to friends and professional duty, Kalin must look within her isolated community to unearth the killer’s identity.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">BLAZE (to be release this fall by <a href="http://www.imajinbooks.com/">...) is the second in the Stone Mountain Mystery series and is a tale about arson, betrayal and revenge. Heading up security was again a great asset. The security team was tightly linked to the fire department, and you guessed it, the firefighters were an awesome group to interview. A first person account of what it’s like to walk through a burning building is terrifying but makes for a good story.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The third in the series, AVALANCHE, has Kalin Thompson searching for a thief, struggling to prove her brother is innocent of a major theft. Unfortunately for Kalin, her brother disappears in an avalanche hours after the theft and is the prime suspect. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u>REQUEST FOR READER ASSISTANCE:</u> I’m writing the fourth in the Stone Mountain Mystery series. A business partner of Kalin’s is murdered while driving his ATV on a mountain trail. He’s forced into a frothing river… My problem with the fourth novel is I have to stop calling it “the fourth.” I need a title. If you have any suggestions for a title that fits with DESCENT, BLAZE and AVALANCHE, please leave a comment below.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">You can find out more about me at <a href="http://www.kristinastanley.com/".... I’d love to hear from you so drop by and leave a comment or connect with me @StanleyKMS. Follow me and I follow back.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Thank you, Catherine, for hosting me. It’s a pleasure to share your blog with you</i>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

Research: Guest Blogger: Author Gloria Ferris

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:11.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; text-indent:.5in; line-height:200%;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style>  <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qT0bpOiPdE..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qT0bpOiPdE..." width="234" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-CA">Gloria Ferris is one of those naturally witty people who make you feel comfortable and happy in her presence at hello. She adds that intelligent humor to her books, along with well-researched, exciting plots and hilarious characters who  ought to be real so we could follow them around and have fun with them.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Here's Gloria's treatise on research for your enlightenment and entertainment!</i></span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IQMiboFw5sU..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IQMiboFw5sU..." /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"> </span></span></span></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YbvoWnKo2_0..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YbvoWnKo2_0..." width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">For my first four books, I’ve researched spirit guides, guns, antiques, architecture, Honduran laws and policing, gangs, jungle plants, motorcycles, body putrefaction, WWII weapons, greenhouse construction, poisons, witchcraft, abandoned cemeteries... </span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">The list goes on. And I loved the time I spent on every subject.</span></span></span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA"> I think the most challenging research came about because my publisher added the sub-title “A Cornwall & Redfern Mystery” to the cover of my second novel, CORPSE FLOWER. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">Bliss Cornwall was my protagonist and Neil Redfern was the Chief of Police. I hadn’t intended that Neil become a co-protagonist, but now I had to ramp up his role in the second book, SHROUD OF ROSES. I knew nada about small town policing so reached out to the police chief of the small town on Lake Huron where I lived for over 20 years and which is the inspiration for my fictional town of Lockport.</span></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">We corresponded for over a year, and he answered my most inane questions with patience and good humour. Each summer I rent a cottage for a week in my former hometown and last year I asked if we could meet. He offered to give me a personal tour of the station. Heck ya! Here was my chance to see how a real, small town police service operated. Keep in mind I was a law abiding citizen while I lived there so I had no personal experience with the police. (Okay, once I had to bail my dog out, but that wasn’t my fault. Oh, yeah, and the time I backed out of my driveway into the car parked in the suicide spot. Again, not my fault.)</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">I presented myself at the station on time and was asked by the teenage receptionist to have a seat in the conference room. I was a bit nervous. With my notebook and pen ready, I waited a couple of minutes. And then the door opened.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">Holy mama! May I be struck dead by a Taser jolt if the guy in uniform standing in the doorway wasn’t the living embodiment of my hot fictional Chief Neil Redfern. Right down to the spiky blond hair. How could this be? Could I have channelled him into my fiction?</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">He showed me the cells (really clean), interrogation room, state-of-the-art fingerprinting machine, weapons room, evidence storage (<i>eau</i> <i>de</i> <i>pot</i>!) but I neglected to jot down a single note. I tried not to stare, but subtlety isn’t one of my several virtues. It’s all a bit of a blur.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">Next month when I have my lakeside holiday, I’ll drop off a copy of SHROUD OF ROSES at the station, to thank Neil … I mean, the chief, for all his help. I believe I should also give him a copy of CORPSE FLOWER, the first Cornwall & Redfern mystery written before I met the real deal. Just to prove I didn’t use him as the model for Neil Redfern. However, I must not simper. I must not giggle…</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-CA">SHROUD OF ROSES comes out TODAY, July 18, 2015! </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shroud-Roses-Co... </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><i>Gloria Ferris is the award-winning author of humorous mysteries Cheat the Hangman, Corpse Flower and Shroud of Roses. Her first co-written suspense venture with author Donna Warner, Targeted, will be released in the fall of 2015. When not writing, Gloria works on character profiles, researches plot lines, reads continuously, and is often heard to mutter, “I wish I’d written that!”. She is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada, the Crime Writers’ Association (UK), and the International Thriller Writers. She lives in southwestern Ontario. </i></span></div>

Guest Author Luke Murphy: Is research necessary in fiction…YOU BET IT IS!

LUKE MURPHY

Luke is one of my fellow Imajineer authors. Here he tells us about research and its importance for authentic plot and setting.

Many people think that because a story is fiction, that very little research goes into writing the book. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Research is an integral part of novel writing.
Plot: I get my ideas from stories I hear about, whether through reading (newspapers, magazines, etc.), what I hear (radio) or what I see (TV, movies, internet, etc.). The plot is completely fictional. I wouldn`t say that one thing or person influences my writing, but a variety of my life experiences all have led to my passion in the written word. There is not a single moment in time when this idea came to be, but circumstances over the years that led to this story: my hockey injuries, frequent visits to Las Vegas, my love of football, crime books and movies. Dead Man’s Hand became real from mixing these events, taking advantage of experts in their field, and adding my wild imagination. The internet also provides a wealth of information, available at our fingertips with a click of the mouse.
Setting: I usually set my stories in cities I've visited and fell in love with. Las Vegas was the perfect backdrop for this story, glitz and glamour as well as an untapped underground. Everyone is interested in this fast-paced, party-all-night lifestyle and city that is party-central. 
I also have to admit that that my wife was pretty happy that I had chosen Las Vegas as my setting, since she joined me in my research trip (wink, wink). Nothing like being able to write-off a trip to Las Vegas (lol).
What I learned most from my trip to LV is what is found outside of the “Strip”. Not all of Las Vegas glitters, and there are parts of the city just like everywhere else in North America. This is the part of the city that I wrote about—things you haven’t heard about in other books.
So I was fortunate enough to visit Las Vegas and do some real, on-site research for street names, hotels, casinos, venues, etc. All of my personal contact with people such as members of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was done via the Internet/email/phone.
Characters: I have never been involved in a homicide investigation, LOL. Although I am not a 6’5”, 220 pound African-American, I’ve used much of my athletic background when creating my protagonist Calvin Watters. Watters past as an athlete, and his emotional rollercoaster brought on by injuries were drawn from my experiences. His mother died of cancer when he was young, as mine was. There are certainly elements of myself in Calvin, but overall, this is a work of fiction. I did not base the characters or plot on any real people or events. Any familiarities are strictly coincidence.
Is research necessary in fiction…YOU BET IT IS!
Luke played six years of professional hockey before retiring in 2006. Afterward, he held a number of jobs, from sports columnist to radio journalist.

All of which also constitute some mighty amazing research!

He constantly read, from novels in his favorite genres to books written by experts in the writing field. He made friends (published and unpublished authors), learning what it took to become successful.

Luke's debut novel, Dead Man's Hand, was released by Imajin Books on October 20, 2012. Dead Man's Hand is on sale during Imajin's Summer Sizzle event and is doing exceptionally well!

http://www.imajinbooks.com/sale
 

What happens when the deck is stacked against you…

From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.

…and the cards don't fall your way?

When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years.

What if you're dealt a Dead Man's Hand?
 Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.

For more information on Luke and his books, visit: www.authorlukemurphy.com, ‘like’ his Facebook page www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorLukeMurphy and follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/#!/AuthorLMurphy

Review Blurbs:

"You may want to give it the whole night, just to see how it turns out."
—William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Lincoln Letter

"Dead Man's Hand is a pleasure, a debut novel that doesn't read like one,
but still presents original characters and a fresh new voice."
—Thomas Perry, New York Times bestselling author of Poison Flower

"Part police procedural, part crime fiction, Dead Man's Hand is a fast, gritty ride."
—Anne Frasier, USA Today bestselling author of Hush


Murphy's new thriller, KISS & TELL, is due out on Monday, July 20th.
   NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!! (click on the cover)


"Luke Murphy scores big with this deep psychological thriller. Just when you think you've got things pegged, Murphy serves up another twist. Fast paced and fun, you won't want to put this book down." - Tim Green, New York Times bestselling author of Unstoppable

Research: Pre-Publishing as well as Post!

LUKE MURPHY

Luke is one of my fellow Imajineer authors. Here he tells us about the research he did in order to become a published author.



Luke played six years of professional hockey before retiring in 2006. Afterward, he held a number of jobs, from sports columnist to radio journalist.

All of which constitute some mighty amazing research!

He constantly read, from novels in his favorite genres to books written by experts in the writing field. He made friends (published and unpublished authors), learning what it took to become successful.

Luke's debut novel, Dead Man's Hand, was released by Imajin Books on October 20, 2012. Dead Man's Hand is on sale during Imajin's Summer Sizzle event and is doing exceptionally well!

http://www.imajinbooks.com/sale
 

What happens when the deck is stacked against you…

From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.

…and the cards don't fall your way?

When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years.

What if you're dealt a Dead Man's Hand?
 Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.

For more information on Luke and his books, visit: www.authorlukemurphy.com, ‘like’ his Facebook page www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorLukeMurphy and follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/#!/AuthorLMurphy

Review Blurbs:

"You may want to give it the whole night, just to see how it turns out."
—William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Lincoln Letter

"Dead Man's Hand is a pleasure, a debut novel that doesn't read like one,
but still presents original characters and a fresh new voice."
—Thomas Perry, New York Times bestselling author of Poison Flower

"Part police procedural, part crime fiction, Dead Man's Hand is a fast, gritty ride."
—Anne Frasier, USA Today bestselling author of Hush


Murphy's new thriller, KISS & TELL, is due out on Monday, July 20th.
   NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!! (click on the cover)

"Luke Murphy scores big with this deep psychological thriller. Just when you think you've got things pegged, Murphy serves up another twist. Fast paced and fun, you won't want to put this book down." - Tim Green, New York Times bestselling author of Unstoppable

Miss Monk and her Mystery Madame

Research Part 2, Subsection B: Guest Authors Mel Bradshaw and Eileen Schuh

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mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><u><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> From Mel Bradshaw, Canadian Author: On research</span></u><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Check out Mel's historical crime books right here:</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> <style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style></span></div>--> <div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://booksofmelbradshaw.ca/"&g... style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">http://booksofmelbradshaw.ca/</spa... class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dSXSxp6yZZk..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dSXSxp6yZZk..." width="241" /></a></span> <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Looking for stuff on the Internet is so fast and easy and while, yes, there can be unreliable, irresponsible claims out there, sometimes you're sure you're getting the real goods. Example, I was able to download (for free) a facsimile of A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE USE OF CORONERS HOLDING INQUESTS IN ONTARIO, published in 1911.</span></div><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">But, having the good fortune to live in the location where my 1920s novels are set, I can also go out and supplement Google Images with my own photographs of old buildings. Example, the chapel of Toronto's old Central Prison still stands in the middle of Liberty Village. My snapshots are helping me put this relic into my new book.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">And of course good libraries still have a place. The current criminal code is available in a flash on the Internet. But how about the criminal code for 1927, when sentences still included so many lashes as well as prison time? Found what I was looking for in the stacks of Robarts Library at the University of Toronto.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZfpQRNkgpLA..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZfpQRNkgpLA..." width="213" /></a></div><u>From Eileen Schuh, Canadian Author: On Research</u><br /><br /><b>Check out Eileen's adult and YA novels here</b>: <br /><a href="http://www.eileenschuh.com/">... <br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">I wrote my BackTracker novels before researching anything, believing I was channeling my characters' true experiences in the biker gang world of drugs and violence and the dangerous counter-world of law enforcement. When it came time to publish the stories, beta readers and editors alike rather adamantly suggested I first ought to confirm the truth of what my likeable but not-all-that-credible characters were telling me. So...I became a volunteer for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. How's that for dedication to my writing career (ha ha)?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">The most enjoyable aspect of my volunteer work is the training provided. I've attended sessions on the illicit drug trade, gangs, juveniles, forensics, counterfeiting, firearms, accident investigation, preserving a crime scene, drones, the canine unit...and the list goes on.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Aside from hard-core learning, my volunteering has also </span> </span><style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Tahoma; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style><br /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">helped me put faces and emotions to those in uniform, taught me the lingo and police protocol, and got my heart racing at times!</span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">P.S. Even though it turns out my BackTracker characters dictated a pretty accurate description of their exciting lifestyles, I'd not give up my volunteering experiences for anything!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><u>From Me</u>:</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Imajin Books is holding its summer sizzle sales & contests right now! Dive in - win - read great books for great prices (including all my books).  </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.imajinbooks.com/">... /><br /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Look for the next research blog soon - plus more guest authors.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div>

A Creative Scrutiny of Research Part Two: The Reader Asks How Do You Research? Subsection A: Primary Sources (Or, can I travel please?)

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><i> “Since everyone was going to die, he could be of great value, right? He could be research. A human textbook. Study me in my slow and patient demise. Watch what happens to me. Learn with me.”</i> <i>Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie</i><br /><br />Most of us would probably agree that interviewing or visiting a primary source is the most exciting kind of research and, often, provides the best detail. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">For instance, it’s difficult to describe the ambiance of Los Angeles unless you’ve driven the massively crowded highways or stood looking down at the beach, waves pummeling the sand.  </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j29fTH8QkO8..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j29fTH8QkO8..." width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have family in Los Angeles, which helps with the research.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3TgoIyjW7qQ..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3TgoIyjW7qQ..." width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laguna Beach, where I once stayed with some very good friends.</td></tr></tbody></table>The scent of sea air, the stench of an open market, the decay of dead…anything. All of these I find difficult to describe unless I’ve actually smelled them.<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0K8DBwS6HmM..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0K8DBwS6HmM..." width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably past putrefaction, but the smell clings to the air.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /> When I wrote Sweet Karoline, I did the most research of all my books. Anne travels from California to Italy to small town Canada. She delves into her past, where her roots take us into First Nations history. I drew on my previous travels to describe the settings. Reading over my travel diaries, looking at the pictures I took, brought back the emotions from and reactions to the places I'd visited. Because I'd actually experienced these spots, I could write more viscerally.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ehEiLfQ00IA..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ehEiLfQ00IA..." width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lot easier to describe a gondola ride when you've been there.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Since 90% of our communication is through body language, interviewing a subject is infinitely more revealing than reading their report or biography.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brekTc2w900..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brekTc2w900..." width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I have impeached myself."</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve found that I am very able to get detail and fact from looking at pictures on the Internet or reading travel books or descriptions of people and places. I absorb more of the information this way, because I take the time to learn. I intellectualize. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">What I get from travel or personal interviews is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">feeling</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>This is where I use my intuition. My large-scale awareness, rather than the minutiae, takes over.<br /><br /><dl><dt><i>It's better to write about things you feel than about things you know about.</i></dt><dd><i>- L. P. Hartley</i></dd></dl><br />I can literally close my eyes and picture myself in that place, that situation, sitting beside that person, using every sense. The smell of body odor or fear; the taste of the spice market; the vastness of the sea; the feel of ancient bricks beneath my toes. I am more equipped to pass on that scene to my readers. I am part of that landscape and thus describe it from the inside. That person has been a part of my life somehow, whether for a long or short time, so I can speak with more authority about his/her life. Those places, those characters, are part of my DNA, my subconscious, that place within me from which the words flow through my fingers onto the page.<br /><dl><dt><i>I have a theory of my own about what the art of the novel is, and how it came into being....It happens because the storyteller's own experience...has moved him to an emotion so passionate that he can no longer keep it shut up in his heart.</i></dt><dd>- Lady Murasaki, <i>The Tale of Genji</i></dd></dl>So of course there is a catch. In-person travel or interviewing isn't always possible. It's just too expensive. Not all of us have an expense account, let alone a big one, nor a contract that offers to send you to exotic locations for your next opus.<br /><br />What to do? Read my next blog, of course.<br /><br />All my links, books, and other tidbits are conveniently located here: <a href="http://www.catherineastolfo.com/"... /><br /><i>"Research is to see what everybody else has seen and to think what nobody else has thought." Albert Szent-Gyorgyi</i><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>

A Quiz For You!

I know Father's Day is gone, but this is so much fun from grammarly.com/grammar-check . Test your grammar skills! I got "Okay, now you're just showing off" - i.e. 7 out of 7. Let me know how you do!

A Creative Scrutiny of Research Part One: You ask, "Why?"

As the author of six books and several short stories (eight books if pre-published counts), I have indulged in a lot of research. I use the word indulge on purpose, because most of the time, it’s fun.
Wikipedia states that research (look again? look differently? – see how I get carried away?) is defined as "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.”
I love that whoever wrote this Wiki page described research as creative. For an author, the inventive part comes when we synthesize the knowledge into something completely unique, a new character, a fantastical society, or an ingenious philosophy.
Why would a fiction author do research, you ask? For me personally, there are a couple of reasons (at least) and I believe most of my author colleagues would agree with them. 
First, a novel must have credibility.
Yes, even if you are writing about a completely fictional town. For my Emily Taylor Mystery series, my imaginary village of Burchill, situated in the middle of Ontario, couldn’t  sport palm trees. The setting, even in a fantasy novel, needs to have some familiarity for the reader or we’ll get completely lost. In a mystery novel, the setting must be pretty real. Burchill is based on Merrickville, Ontario, so I visited, used maps, looked up the geography and topography.
In a mystery, the plot is extremely important. The Emily Taylor Mysteries taught me, often the hard and embarrassing way, that a plot idea often leads to a myriad of investigations. My novels aren’t police procedurals, but they do have policing in them. I learned from some of my endorsers (e.g. author Vicki Delany) that I had to be more accurate.
In The Bridgeman, my main character was the operator of the lift bridge. I knew nothing about that – enter, research! Not to mention puppy mills (heartbreaking knowledge to have), policing of small towns, and First Nation territories. 
For Victim, I ended up having to learn about forests, caves, rescue operations, vegetation and First Nation philosophy.
With Legacy, I expanded into child protection services, hypnosis, oxygen deprivation, post-partum depression, fires, provincial courts and churches.
For Seventh Fire, wrongful convictions took up most of my fact-finding time. 
Sweet Karoline involved history, pow-wows, policing in the US and Canada, and even more thoroughly, psychosis.
See how one little plot points feeds the research machine? And the author simply must do it – otherwise, your readers will pounce on you and refuse to buy the next one.
“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write: an [author] will turn over half a library to write one book,” said Samuel Johnson, an English author in the 1700’s.
Do fiction authors have to be completely accurate? Well, no. We are writing a story, after all, one that’s not true. However, we must find the balance between reality and imagination to be believable.
Mark Twain famously said, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” This quote has often been translated into “the facts” rather than the truth, but I suppose it means pretty much the same thing. I somewhat adhere to this philosophy. I gather the information, then sometimes bend or twist it to fit my purposes.
As Stephen King said, “You may be entranced with what you’re learning about the flesh-eating bacteria, the sewer system of New York, or the I.Q. potential of collie pups, but your readers are probably going to care a lot more about your characters and your story.”
That’s often what I’m betting on when I brush a bit too quickly across the truth or leave out some minutiae.
The second reason for doing research is a big more esoteric. As Robert McKee, the creative writing instructor known for “Story Seminar” has said: “Do research. Feed your talent. Research…wins the war on cliché.”
 

Historical research for Sweet Karolineled me to residential schools where Canadian First Nations children were confined. Although these facts didn’t fit that book’s plot, I used the knowledge for The Three R’s, my story in the anthology Thirteen. 

 Currently, I continue to read everything I can about the schools. I live in Brantford, Ontario, where the Mohawk Institute sits – the model for all the other residences in our country. Ironically, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has just begun to make many of my fellow Canadians aware of this shameful past. Some day, I believe a novel on this topic is destined to burst forth from my fingertips.

Celia Green, a British non-fiction author, said, “The way to do research is to attack the facts at the greatest point of astonishment.”
I like that. Including some of the most poignant, interesting or vital facts can make the story more vibrant, realistic and distinctive.
 “Research is one thing: passion,” said poet Khalid Masood. Very poetic and, I think, true.
Next Time: A Creative Scrutiny of Research Part Two Subsection A: The Author Asks How to Research?
To find all my books and short stories, visit my website : www.catherineastolfo.com

Fast, Fun, Feisty, Frugal

My new book, UP CHIT CREEK, is a shorty. A novella. A fast read for busy people without sacrificing character and plot. There might be a few delicious caloric descriptive passages removed, but who needs the extra weight?


 Especially when you are sitting on a subway train or a bus or a plane. If you're a fast reader, you can devour my shorty in no time.

Wikipedia says novellas can go from 17,500 to 40,000 words, with the most common being 30,000. My publisher, Imajin Books, picked 30,000 words max for her Qwickie line. As a comparison, novels are most commonly 80-90,000 words.
 




But - it will be FUN. Yes, this author of the dark suspense (Emily Taylor Mysteries and Sweet Karoline, not to mention all those short stories), has written a funny story. Well, I hope you find it funny anyhow. The plot of killing old people at a retirement residence doesn't sound funny, but my character is a spitfire. She's witty and smart and speaks her mind outrageously. A member of The Flower Pots, she's an "old hippy" who still likes to kick back with a spliff or two. Someone you might have met at Woodstock (the original).
 


It's frugal, too, since the novella will cost you about $3.00. Trust me, selling at this price doesn't make or my publisher rich, but it's just so damn satisfying. Of course, if we end up with a million buyers, we'd be just fine, but that's not something I expect. (Luckily, neither does my publisher.)


Pretty good price for something that will make you LOL and with characters you will remember.

Written on the little laptop pictured to the left!

The launch of UP CHIT CREEK happens Saturday, May 2, 2015.
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mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; font-family:Wingdings;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} </style><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;">May 2  Be Up  Chit Creek?</span></b></span><br /><br />You are personally invited to dive right in. How can you do that?  Let me count the ways!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span>In person. Come to a panel discussion and the book launch at The Brantford Public Library, Main Branch, 173 Colborne St., Brantford, at 2 p.m. on May 2. Open House at our place afterward.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span>Online! Download a copy of the e-novella through any of these links. You can do this right now. You’ll get the book on May 2. You can order on May 2 or after May 2. The Tooth will set you free.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span>If you don’t have an ereader, download it onto your computer and wait until you do. Tell me you downloaded it and in goes your name for a free paperback when (if) I get one. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">     </span></span></span>You want an autographed copy? You can have your ebooks authorgraphed right here: https://www.authorgraph.com</div&g... class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">UP CHIT CREEK<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LCyKjbSHslA..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LCyKjbSHslA..." height="320" width="213" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "TimesNewRomanMS","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanMS;">No one is surprised that “nosy Rosie” is the one who finds poor Mr. Hummel in the garden. The surprise is the knife in his back. Nothing like this has ever happened in Chittendom Creek, let alone at the ReVisions Retirement Residence. When the oldies start dropping like flies, it’s Kira Callahan to the rescue.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "TimesNewRomanMS","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanMS;">To solve the murder, Kira enlists the assistance of her friends, The Flower Pots—so named due to their past and present semi-legal activity. But Kira is up Chit Creek when a final ingenious plan to capture the killer almost ends with a victim close to her heart. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Amazon/Kindle:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Up-Chit-Creek-C... style="color: #386eff; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">http://www.amazon.com/Up-Chit-Creek-C... class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Kobo:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebo... style="color: #386eff; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">https://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebo... style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Google Play:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/d... style="color: #386eff; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">https://play.google.com/store/books/d... style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">  </span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">      </span></span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Smashwords doesn’t have pre-orders, so on or after May 2: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view... style="color: #386eff; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">https://www.smashwords.com/books/view... class="MsoListParagraph"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Other Dates for In Person Visits can be found right here: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Astol... class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />