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I write fiction, I make it all up. I tell lies for a living now. Yep, that’s what I do. I used to be a more honest person. In my former career I taught school and I prided myself on my honesty. Not so anymore.
My Daddy was a consumate liar. He was famous for it. He’d tell the same lies so many times that he’d believe them himself. I guess I owe my dad for my gift of writing fiction. He taught me to tell stories. I learned how to embellish the truth.
An idea pops into my head and I run with it. Easy as pie right? I gave up writing historicals because I didn’t have time to do the research. But guess what, even writing contemporary fiction requires research, so I spend many hours gathering facts and articles, maps and pictures all to insure that my stories, while fiction, ring true.
Right now I am working on a romantic suspense set during a major snowstorm in the Atlanta area. Guess what I’ve been researching?
You got it, the great Snowpocalypse of 2014. I’ve found so many details of that event to include in my story. When I started developing this plot, I had no idea who my hero would work for, so I reached out to a retired military friend for that information. I waited a couple months for the answers to my questions because he had to get permission to give me those answers. Wow, I was impressed. Maybe he wasn’t quite as retired as I thought he was.
Once while working on a story that involved agents from the GBI I called the Atlanta office and talked to an agent. He was very informative. I promised him a copy of that book, but haven’t managed to sell it, so he’s still waiting. Now maybe I’ll pull it out and go the indie route, so I can send him his copy.
I’ve decided historicals might be easier after all, history doesn’t change like contemporary times do. Don’t even get me started about sci-fi or paranormal or fantasy. Yes, you make it all up. Yes it’s fiction. But you still have to get the details right and that means research.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the research. I’ll waste… uh work for hours researching. Did I mention I majored in history in college? Well, I did and I love research. I love researching and digging up the little details that make my lies ring true. What about you? How do you make your lies ring true?
