December 22, 2025
What person/place/thing did you enjoy researching the most?
Much of my research has to do with various types of weaponry.
So many of my books deal with firearms. Harmony Duprie has a revolver, the smallest one she could possibly use and still go damage. My wolf shifters are armed with various types of military style guns. Jake Hennessey didn’t carry a gun, but the law enforcement officials he dealt with did. It was interesting, and I got lots of advice from experts I knew, but it was “temporary” information and nothing I retained.
The research I’ve done for the Edwards Investigations series is different. I’m referencing places I knew and times that I lived through. But I’m not just remembering my personal stories; I’m putting my memories into a historical context, looking at them from a different point of view. It’s fascinating.
But reliving my experience with the dawn of the personal computer era is the most engrossing. I played the original arcade version of pong, and used 5 1/4 floppy discs. I had a camera that used 3 1/2 floppies to store files. My experience with computers started in the days of DOS and stretched all the way to the current domination of Windows. Being able to put that into exact years wasn’t possible without lots of research.
So, it made sense to make the advent of computers part of the movement of the stories.
I can use it exactly as history writes it, or I can smudge the edges as needed. It’s not the main plot point (or is it?) but it gives readers something to hang their hats on. I can play loose with other areas of the history as long as readers feel comfortable with pieces they experienced. Or they can google something I mention to verify it. (Although cell phones haven’t made an appearance yet.)
Although I build a strong foundation in Book 1, I’m expanding on it for Book 2. What was the role of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission? When was the last time you heard anything about it? You’ll have to stay tuned, dear reader, to find out.
Let’s find out what other authors have been researching. Just follow the links below.
As always, please stay safe until the next time. And have a good holiday, whichever one you celebrate this time of year.
December 22, 2025
-What person/place/thing did you enjoy researching the most?
When I’m researching, whether its for the future, or an alternative now, I remember the words of Isaac Asimov. “Nothing has to be real, but everything has to sound real.” That can be tricky to achieve when you’re trying to extrapolate now. But it’s very rewarding when someone tells you that what you did worked.
It’s so true. What is trickier is writing something that IS true but doesn’t sound like it.
Weapons research is a lot of fun. Old world items, especially, are quite artful.
I wouldn’t call weapon research fun, but it is interesting,