Sharon Robinson: I write contemporary romance but even that requires research. I chose locations that I know well but need to revisit. I spend time in restaurants, on buses, walking streets - listening to conversations. I conduct interviews, consult professionals from the same field and research events through the Internet.
Amanda Scott: I have a Master's Degree in history, and my focus was British history with an emphasis on England and Scotland and a secondary interest in Wales that has grown stronger over the years as I investigate family history. I do massive amounts of research for each book, although my son frequently says that I know more about 16th century Scotland and early 19th century England than I know about 20th or 21st century America. I'm sure he's right about that, but there is always more to learn, and since much of my story material comes from the research, and it's nearly always fascinating; it's the easiest part of writing for me.
Brenda Joyce: Extensively. I hate libraries, so I tend to buy books online-nowadays you can get even the hardest to find material online-but it's pricey. I also, from time to time, con a friend into working as my assistant and she'll go to the library. For the Deadly series, I use lots of newspaper articles.
Susan Wiggs: I try to visit the setting of the book, although it's often so altered that it's hard to imagine the place a hundred years earlier-particularly if the whole city burned, like Chicago in 1871. But I do like to get a "sense" of the place. The Internet has streamlined my research so much. With one click, I can view materials in the Library of Congress, university and research libraries and museums worldwide. It's pretty incredible and, I think, adds to the authenticity of the books.
Sherri Browning: I live near my former college campus and I spend a lot of time at the Mount Holyoke library, a peaceful environment for working and researching. I find some things online as well.
Sue-Ellen Welfonder: Being of Scottish descent, I grew up with a fierce appreciation of Scottish history. And I have been fascinated by the medieval period all my life. I fully believe writers should write in the genre that speaks loudest to their hearts. Only then will their characters and the setting come to life. It happens because the author's own passion can't help but spill onto the page. My writing office has floor to ceiling bookshelves with research tomes on every imaginable topic pertaining to the medieval period, Scotland, and the British Isles in general. I study these books daily and doing so is never a chore but a true pleasure. I also research onsite: I lived overseas, in Munich, for fifteen years and used that time to thoroughly explore the places that would later become my settings. Now that I am stateside again, I make annual research trips to Great Britain. Being there, actually walking around medieval castles or ruins, battlefields, abbey ruins, etc ... is a wellspring of inspiration for me. Such travel and studying the books in my research library helps
me gather the knowledge I need to write in this subgenre.
Betina Krahn: READ, READ, READ. And if time and money permit, I travel to gain insight. There are some things about locations, environments, and modes of living that are tough to learn from books.
Kat Martin: I generally research from broad to narrow, meaning I get everything I can find on the subject from the library, read generally then go back and get info on more specific subjects. Recently, I've begun to use the Internet and really found it helpful.
Glenna McReynolds: Books. I use the web, but mostly to find more books. I love Interlibrary Loans. When I first begin researching a topic, I spend a lot of time searching bibliographies. In any subject, certain books will start reappearing, over and over. Those are the source books, the original research books, and I use them.
Madeline Hunter: I begin with a good, recent, scholarly general history of the period, and also investigate aspects of the social history. I also read biographies, since they often bring up interesting tidbits that don't make it into other books and because one can see the society really at work in them. I prefer academic books and articles, because they go beyond the generic information, and their footnotes discuss the exceptions to the norm. The details, what people wore and ate, are the easiest parts to research. I spend more time trying to comprehend the mentalities of the time, and how the society functioned. I think it is important to avoid presenting the historical time period as a superficial Disneyworld version of itself.
Donna Kauffman: My books are set in contemporary times, however I have had historical characters come forward to exist in my contemporary setting. My research is done on site (such as trips to Scotland and New Orleans) where it can be easier to learn about the history in a much more vivid fashion. The remainder is done with lots of reading. And more reading. My librarian is my best friend. With the Internet running a close second. When I've been unable to travel to a certain place, I've generally had good luck in finding someone who does live there, or is perhaps knowledgeable about the historical period I'm researching, who then becomes my 'expert witness.'
Elizabeth Thornton: I know the history of the Regency Period (the era of my books) inside out. History fascinates me. However, there's hardly a book I've written where I haven't had to do research. It's on a need to know basis: one of my heroes, for example, owned a newspaper, so I had to research that topic. One of my heroines was tried for murder, so I had to do my research on the law and court procedure.. Publishing houses of the era, the laws of property and divorce, the police force (or lack of it), Newgate Prison, Parliamentary Procedure, Coaches and carriages, etc., etc., etc. - I've researched them all in my time. This is one of the pleasures of writing historicals. I think I like the research as much as I like writing my stories.
Jacquie D'Alessandro: I use the Internet a lot. The amount of information on the web astounds me. I also have a large collection of research books I've bought over the years that I refer to. I've used the library on occasion, but really, it distresses me to use a book and then have to return it! I like to own my books. So I usually buy them.
Shana Abe: Very, very meticulously. Otherwise, you totally hear about it from retired history teachers with far too much time on their hands. It can get brutal. As a writer of historical romance, I can now tell you all about gambesons, hauberks, swords, quintains, espaliers, stirrups, Black Death, mottes, castellans, beeswax, ornamental metalworking, wild flowers native to Great Britain, destriers, tartans, clan mottos, 1066, battlements, and various unpleasant - but completely herbal! - poisons. If you're a retired history teacher with an axe to grind, drop me a line. I'm ready.
