Question

Someone recently asked me what is something odd or interesting I do in my books. I don't know if this is interesting, but one thing I do is have a timeline for every chapter. In the first printings of the Chupacabra book I didn't have this and someone who read it and left me a very negative review said that they had a difficult time establishing the timeline. I revised the Chupacabra and placed it on a calendar, and with Champ as well as the current work in progress they follow the same method. Each chapter has a specific date and takes place usually over about 10 days - 2 weeks. The stories include a lot of mention of events the characters see or beers they have in a brewery. If an event is mentioned it actually occurred on the date listed in the chapter. If a beer is named at a brewery it was actually available at that brewery on that date. That is one of the challenging research aspects that I try to add, even though most people probably pay no attention to it. Even though the end result of the book is fantasy, I attempt to ground most of the book in reality based on the established timeline.

Other weird things I do...I have a list of odd words that I once read an article that said I wish these words made a comeback. Every book has at least one of those words included. Also, in book 1 I made a list of just random items and wondered if I could include them in a story. So in the Chupacabra you may find A pile of hay, a pool stick, or a A 60% off coupon. In Champ you might find a Spider-Man 2099 comic book, a bent paperclip, Five hard candies, a Vydox - orange male enhancement pill, or a lost dog poster. Weird and random, but so am I. Have suggested weird items for future stories? I am open to new ones.

What else? What would you like to know? Ask anything.