2004 Romance Author Roundtable

4. AOTW: If you write historical romances, how do you do your research?

Nicole Jordan: I have my own large library of reference books that I've collected over the years. And I also rely on public libraries, historical societies, museums, chambers of commerce and tourism bureaus.

Actually, I pride myself on the accuracy of my historical research. In past years I did copious research --- one to four months for each major new setting and/or time period. But now that I have a good grounding in the settings and periods I want to use, it usually only takes me a week or so to research details specific to the book I'm working on. But for the fiction part, I spend about a month preparing before I actually begin writing, and that's not counting the six to twelve months beforehand when I try to let the story idea and characters percolate in my brain.

And I am writing fiction, after all. So my stories obviously stem from my imagination. But as long as the fictional elements in my books are within the realm of possibility --- if they could have happened --- then I'm satisfied. If so, then I've fulfilled a duty to my readers to provide them entertainment that sweeps them away to fascinating times and places.

Jill Marie Landis: I write both historicals and contemporaries now. When I'm working on a historical, I usually come up with the situation (spinster teacher follows her heart and becomes a mail order bride but the man she's been writing to has no idea who she is, which was the set up for Summer Moon/Ballantine). Then I start researching various times and places that interest me, things I'll actually enjoy researching, such as the Comanche wars. That leads to the setting --- where did the war take place, what time period. Once I have a date and setting, then I can research the fashion, lifestyles, types of homes, transportation, political happenings, whatever.

By now I have a very extensive library of my own. I also use the nearby university library and, to some extent, the Internet.

Linda Francis Lee: I haven't written historicals in a while, but some of my most memorable moments have occurred while doing research. When I was writing Dove's Way, I read books and journals of historic figures who had traveled in the Congo. Once I was immersed in that world through reading, I was then able to interview a professor from Africa who helped bring that existence more vividly to life. It's not quite the same as going to Africa, but still amazing. Even better than that, in a romance I wrote titled Swan's Grace, my heroine was a cellist. I took cello lessons, learned how to play the Bach pieces she performed in the book, and actually got to play a cello from the time period. Creating worlds in my head is fun. Living out some of the pieces is priceless. (I sound like an ad!)

Linda Lael Miller: I read extensively, plus I practically grew up in the Old West, spending a lot of time on a ranch near my hometown of Northport, WA, on the Canadian border. Most of the men in my family are cowboys, and I know what it's like to sit on a horse; I ride almost every day. I also use the Internet, and I like to check out "Timetables of History" to make sure I have the right political and economical mood for the piece. Even if you never mention these details, and I rarely do, it still anchors the work if you know who was President, etc.

Lisa Kleypas: I spend a fortune on books, many of them rare and antique volumes. For my Bow Street Runner trilogy, I had to order many old and wonderful books from England, as the information on the Bow Street Runners is actually rather limited. But I found some absolute treasures through a British book search firm.

Lisa Jackson: I have my own library of research materials, and there are tons of online sources. I like children's picture books, and I watch historical movies and specials just to get a feel for the times. I stay in the same time period and the same area --- Wales --- so that narrows the research quite a bit.

Laura Lee Guhrke: I buy research books related to the specific book I'm working on. I also have an extensive library of my own. I am constantly scanning the online used bookstores for research books that I think would be useful to me. Also, I ask lots of questions if I need particular expertise. I also read novels of the period I am working in. That helps a great deal.

Kimberly Raye: I write primarily contemporary novels now, but still do a remarkable amount of research for them --- just as much research, in fact, as I did when I wrote my earlier time-travels that featured historical settings. I'm a book hound, so I rely mostly on research books for my information. I find Amazon.com to be an invaluable resource for hard-to-find titles, and they offer overnight shipping, which is nice when you need a piece of info in a pinch.

Mary Balogh: In great bulk at the start, reading both history and contemporary sources. But since most of my books have been set in the same historical period (the Regency), I am constantly adding to my knowledge. And there are two great e-mail loops of Regency fanatics to which I belong. What the people on those loops do not know about the Regency period is not worth knowing. Everyone is very willing to share expertise. I am British by upbringing. This is a huge advantage to a writer of historical fiction set in Britain. I have an intuitive feel for what people would do under certain circumstances or feel about various issues, and how they would speak. I spend a month there each year to soak up the atmosphere.

Beverly Jenkins: I do my research at libraries and online. I also use bibliographies found in some of my primary sources and I have a ton of newspaper clippings --- many sent to me by fans and my mom.

Judi McCoy: I tried writing a historical ONCE, but when I found out how much research was involved, I decided the era wasn't for me. But I do research each book I write for setting accuracy, the careers my hero and heroine might have, even their family history if it's pertinent to the story.

Jane Feather: Books. Lots of them. I love doing research, following connections, tracking down obscure references, hunting for a historical hook.

Stephanie Bond: I don't write historical romances, but I do spend a lot of time researching elements of my stories. In preparation for writing the intrigue in my humorous romantic suspense novels, I completed the coursework to become a private investigator in the state of Georgia, including being certified on a .38. Plus I bring various life experiences to my writing --- I grew up on a farm, ran my own retail business during college, received an MBA, and worked in the corporate world for ten years before becoming a writer. And my dear husband is accustomed to me asking for his help to prove or disprove a scene --- the only thing he's refused to date is my request to close me up in a sleeper sofa "just to see if a body would fit."

Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Hey, you need a heck of a lot of research to write contemporary romance, too. I just spent the better part of a day on the phone with the NCAA trying to understand the rules regarding NFL recruiting. Let me tell you, I'd rather have been researching Regency undergarments.

Cherry Adair: I write contemporary romances, and still do extensive research for verisimilitude and accuracy. I do a great deal of my research online, then contact the people I meet there if I need more information on a particular subject. As a general rule everyone has been exceptionally forthcoming and eager to share their knowledge with me.

Karen Rose: I haven't written any historicals (yet).

Susan Crandall: I'm not published in historicals. I love to read them, though!