Research!

OK, that’s kind of a nerdy thing to get excited about, but my historical novelist friends probably know the feeling.

I’m digging around, reading, making a timeline, trying to connect the dots, looking for the story, and every time I stumble on another fact that gets me excited I feel as if it’s Christmas.

It’s possible that this is unique to writing historical fiction, although research is involved in writing any novel. You have to know the setting, the weather, the local quirks and curiositi...