Monday, August 17, 2020

Book Research

Moran State Park, Orcas Island, WA
My third Detective Scott McGregor mystery is set in the San Juan Islands in Washington State’s Puget Sound during the annual mid-August Perseid meteor showers. I visited the setting so I could write about it more convincingly.

My research assistants and I explored the islands for dastardly locations and situations to make the heroine of my story suffer immeasurable agonies: being hungry, injured, and scared while lost in the forest and pursued by someone with evil intentions. All of this sadistic behavior on my part is supposed to make for good reading.

Book research is hard work. My assistants and I stayed in bed & breakfast inns on two different islands. We trekked countless miles through dense forests. We viewed fabulous scenery from scarily high overlooks. We braved the midnight cold to watch meteor showers. We consumed alcohol in waterfront taverns and island breweries. Ya gotta feel sorry for authors, right?