Welcome back to the 2012 Best Summer Reading Ever Blog Tour featuring some of my fellow writers at Awe-Struck Publishing. This week my guest is Regan Taylor who writes primarily in the historical romance genre. Check out her selection of books at her website
www.regantaylor.com. Today Regan shares her thoughts on how she researches for her novels. And, after you enjoy Regan's comments,
you can qualify to win a free copy of Regan Taylor's ebook With All Dispatch -Book
2 of the Treasures Antique Series and you'll be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate to be awarded on July 29th just by leaving a comment
here on my blog with the answer to the following question. What is the name of the ship where Regan spends a day on the ocean doing some research? Now, Enjoy!!!!
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| Regan Taylor |
"YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT I DID TO RESEARCH MY NOVEL"
I don't know about you, but if I’m reading
a book and there are inaccuracies that could have been fixed with a little
research it takes me right out of the book.
I used to be a police dispatcher and for the most part public safety
folks, both police and fire, are pretty cool about sitting down and telling you
what's right and what is pure fiction. Fiction is good - I read fiction, but if
something is wrong, it's wrong. Okay, I did have a bit of a time getting
someone from Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to talk to me so I could
make my BATF agent, Ryan Michaels in my McKenna Series factually accurate.
On the other hand, when I contacted the United States Marshals for some
historical information for Kendrick Parker in my Bride Series they put me
through to their historian in Washington, D.C. who spent about two hours on the
phone with me going through some very specific details. You can find the info you are looking for;
sometimes you just need to dig a bit.
Given my own "geek factor" personality I
love researching a new book. I spend hours in the library pouring through
reference materials and interview people who actually work in the field or have
historical information for my historical romances. And then there's the really
fun research. Until I started doing my research for SAPPHIRE, my current work
in progress, what I did for WITH ALL DISPATCH was probably the most fun—I lived
a day in my characters' lives starting with getting up at the same time they
would have for the story. First stop was the Cheese Factory just outside Novato,
California, which has been around since
the late 1800's and they still make a fabulous cheese. Breakfast was some of
their cheese on homemade rosemary bread. There is a duck pond on the grounds
and some of the water fowl came to share the meal. While siting and sharing my
meal with some friendly ducks I pulled out my netbook and wrote Gareth and
Molly's scene.
From there I drove over the covered bridge
and out to the coast. The Pacific that day was breathtaking. The ocean can be
quite hypnotic and watching the deep blue-green waves travel in and out,
watching the tide changes and coastal wild life go about their business paved
the wave for Gareth to talk about his past life. That would be the life he led
ohhh, about 1500 years ago. Of course Molly, the love of his life, doesn’t
quite believe him. Surely a man who traveled from the past wouldn't be all that
interested in by the book, sees things in black and white and lives by the
rules Molly. So she thinks.
My actual goal for the day was the Pt. Reyes
Lighthouse. Lighthouses are their own special kind of magic. And the stories
they could tell not only about the long ago sailors who relied on their
guidance, but some of the modern day visitors. There is a certain romance to
the towers. The on duty ranger provided some great input -- with Gareth ever near
the edge of my imagination providing ideas for just what he and Molly would be
up to.
Instead of taking the "short way" home I
chose to travel down Highway 1 and the coastal route. With its steep cliffs and
winding roadway you get the sense of being in another time and place. As
darkness and the evening fog settled over the coast I headed inland and stopped
for dinner at the Pelican Inn, an authentic 16th century British
Inn. I opted for the kind of meal Gareth would enjoy -- Shepherd's Pie with
truffle for dessert.
Later on in the story, when Gareth and
Molly have their "dark moment", that moment when their relationship is going to
make or break I spent another day driving up and down Highway 121 in Napa
looking for the exact spot where their confrontation takes place. Six or seven
passes the exact spot caught my attention. Walking around in the field, taking
in the scents, noises and watching out for the occasional cow patty it was
pretty easy to picture that earth shattering confrontation.
More recently one of my friends came along
to do some of that helping with my research for SAPPHIRE. When we heard that
the Lady Washington, an exact replica of the original tall ship, was coming to
down we headed down to Sausalito, California to spend the day on board sailing.
The crew was fantastic and the steward, Cat, spent the better part of two hours
answering questions, helping with plot points and describing life what they
know of life on the high seas. She’s lived on board for most of the past 3
years. While we cruised the way the Lady Washington and its traveling
companion, the Hawaiian Chieftain had a mock battle complete with cannons. They
say if you can sail San Francisco bay you can sail anywhere. The day of our
sail was warm, sunny and crystal clear.
I don't know if you're like me and always
plan to see the sites in your local area. I know when I lived in New York I
always planned to visit certain places like the Statute of Liberty but never
got around to it. I've lived in the San Francisco Bay area for years and
haven't yet made my way to Alcatraz. I'm thinking it may be time for one of my
books to take place there just so I have to make the journey out to the famous
island in the bay. Meanwhile, Gareth's brother, Gehris, will be eating at Cliff
house before too long and they still have pictures of the original gothic
structure around. Anyone care to join Gehris and I?
Research Photos
Here's an excerpt from one of Regan's books:
WITH ALL DISPATCH
BOOK 2 of the Treasures Antique Series
Chapter One
Head spinning, Molly Tanner sat down on the bed
unable to breathe let alone move. Something that just couldn’t happen,
happened.
It just wasn’t possible. No how.
No way
“This has to be a joke, a really
bad joke,” she muttered, a photograph gripped tightly in her hand.
She looked around the room and
weakly called, “You can come out now. The both of you. Really. Actually make
that all three of you. Come on Taister, no playing silly cat games this
morning.”
Shaking ever so slightly, Molly
scooched off her roommate, Carrie Taylor’s, bed and on to the floor. Not that
she was worried about Carrie finding her in her room. After all, the twosome
had been friends since they were kids. Growing up with her dark-haired friend
had been an adventure with Carrie always finding something new and different
for them to get in to. Then one day, not so long ago, Carrie brought home a
photograph.
A very old photograph.
And damn if Carrie and her cat
Taister weren’t sitting in that very photograph this very minute looking like they’d
both caught the canary.
Molly flipped it over and studied
the paper. “Nope, this isn’t the photo-shopped version of you and Black Eagle.
Nope, nope, not at all. This is the real deal. Carrie, you really did it this
time. Or not.”
Lifting her hips off the floor
Molly turned and peered under the white-eyelet comforter that covered Carrie’s
bed and spied nothing but a few of Taister’s silky black cat hairs.
She sniffed. Nothing, except the
sulfur-like smell that greeted her when she first walked into Carrie’s room
minutes ago, permeated the air. She brought the photograph up to eye level and
shook her head, “At least you could have left a note.”
She snickered to herself. “A
note? That said what? Hi! I’m back in time with the man I love?”
She shook her head and then
snapped her fingers. “Mr. Merle! I’ll talk to Mr. Merle and he’ll know what
happened. Right? I mean, he’s the one who gave you this darn photograph in the
first place. He’ll know where you’ve gone and if you’re coming back.”
She stood and walked over to
Carrie’s closet. Peering inside, she saw it was as neat and orderly as ever. It
didn’t appear that even a scarf was missing. Clearly Carrie hadn’t packed
before taking off to wherever she went.
“Not that anyone has time to pack
before time traveling.” Molly laughed, just short of hysterical. “Right. Like I
have so much experience with time travel. Let’s see what or who I know who’s
done it? There’s Black Eagle coming here. And then there’s Black Eagle going
back to his home and yup, that’s a lot of experience you have there, Molly.
You’re a virtual expert. Yup, and going a little bonkers here talking to
yourself.”
Molly turned to study her
reflection in Carrie’s mirror. “I suppose that’s true though. I mean, how many
people time travel or know people who do? Me, and maybe Mr. Merle if he’d admit
to it. It’s not the kind of thing you can bring up in every day conversation;
‘say, Janice, did you happen to travel to Queen Elizabeth’s coronation? Liz the
first I mean. What did you think?’ Nope. Can’t exactly do that. If people
didn’t think you were crazy before they’d know it after a crack like that.”
She padded back to Carrie’s bed
as if she carried the weight of the world in her hands rather than the yellowed
photograph, and sat. There they were, Carrie, Black Eagle and Taister, in the
photograph…together, in time, forever. Carrie had made it back to her man.
“So now, what do I do? Do I try
to bring you home? Or let you live the rest of your life in the past sans
latte’s, microwaves and Jacuzzis? Should I be happy for you or sad that I’ll
never see you again? And why am I asking a photograph?”
(to be continued)
Regan's Bio:
From earliest childhood today’s guest author, Regan Taylor, was an avid
reader. Upon discovering Alexander Dumas and Charles Dickens she was hooked on
books that carried the reader away to a different time and place. Preferring the
quiet of her room and a good book to spending time with people, she traveled far
beyond those four walls. It was while working as a police dispatcher, first for the California
Highway Patrol and then her local police department, she began to write fiction,
primarily time travels and romantic suspense. In the spring of 2009 she returned
to the day job she always liked best, working as a legal secretary. Curled up in
her bunny slippers with her furfaced children, Mel, Missy and Bogie, while
writing is one of her favorite things to do.
Regan's Published Novels
My interview for this week is being hosted by erotic romance writer, Corinne Davies at
www.daviesromance.blogspot.com . I'm sure you'll find a couple of exciting reads among Corinne's excting books for your summer reading pleasure.
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