Please welcome Elizabeth Seckman, author of Defying Reason. Today she's sharing part of her writing journey with us.
UNIQUE RESEARCH
There is always something in a book that needs researched that a reference book or Google search just doesn't quite cover.
In the first book of the Coulter men series (Past Due), I needed to know if the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was turned off during its move inland. None of the articles written on the subject mentioned whether or not it glowed, so I called people who lived on the island to get the answer. Which was no, it didn't glow.
For book two in the Coulter men series (Healing Summer), I wanted to know where a traveler could get lunch in one of the tiny half-horse Montana towns. While we vacationed in the region, I would ask cashiers and clerks, and on more than one occasion, someone offered to whip up some food.
For book three in the Coulter men series (Fate Intended), I needed some dirty words translated into Russian, so I hired a translator.
And for the fourth book in the Coulter men series (Defying Reason), I needed to know the rules on phone calls in and out of jail. Fortunately, a single shout out on Facebook had my inbox filled with real life prison contact stories.
For me, one of the funnest parts of writing the story is the unique research required by each one.
The Blurb:
Author Bio:
In the first book of the Coulter men series (Past Due), I needed to know if the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was turned off during its move inland. None of the articles written on the subject mentioned whether or not it glowed, so I called people who lived on the island to get the answer. Which was no, it didn't glow.
For book two in the Coulter men series (Healing Summer), I wanted to know where a traveler could get lunch in one of the tiny half-horse Montana towns. While we vacationed in the region, I would ask cashiers and clerks, and on more than one occasion, someone offered to whip up some food.
For book three in the Coulter men series (Fate Intended), I needed some dirty words translated into Russian, so I hired a translator.
And for the fourth book in the Coulter men series (Defying Reason), I needed to know the rules on phone calls in and out of jail. Fortunately, a single shout out on Facebook had my inbox filled with real life prison contact stories.
For me, one of the funnest parts of writing the story is the unique research required by each one.
The Blurb:
Jo Leigh Harper comes from a long line of trouble-making, white trash stock.
Tanner Coulter comes from a longer line of wealth-creating, blue blood stock.
Jo graduated college top of her class, moving toward a future full of possibilities.
Tanner dropped out of college, trading a law degree for drinking games and one night stands.
A family crisis throws the rich party boy and the poor genius girl together. The attraction is immediate, though neither one is a heart-in-the-sand-drawing believer in true love. But as the summer sun heats up along the shores of the Outer Banks, so does the connection between them. Maybe, just maybe, they can win at love by defying reason.
Elizabeth is a multi-published author of books for people who are believers in happily-ever- after, true love, and stories with a bit of fun and twists with their plots. The mother of four young men, she tackles laundry daily and is the keeper of the kitchen. She lives along the shores of the Ohio River in West Virginia, but dreams daily of the beach.
What avenues have you pursued for your research?
Please share your Unique Research story.
