Caren Johnson Literary Agency

I’m at a writer’s conference in Muncie, IN (Midwest Writers Workshop held at Ball State University) and have been racking my brain for wisdom to impart to the writers here when my author Irene Peterson sent me an article about the research romance writers do for their books. Problem solved because this is a topic I’ve been meaning to talk about and finally have the chance. The article is called Research for Romance and it talks about how romance writers use research to “make their fiction come alive”. I shriek about research because there is nothing more distracting than wanting to focus on the romance between two characters and being distracted by inaccuracies in the book. Whether your character is a police officer, fire fighter, chef, ballerina or exotic dancer, you should have done your research to make sure that you’re not just going by what you see on TV.

I’m including a link to the article here, as well as an excerpt of the article below:

Research for Romance

By Paula Scully

The New Jersey Romance Writers conducted a field trip Saturday to the Ocean County Library in Toms River to learn how to research just about anything without leaving home.

“Most of our Ocean County members don’t get to the meetings because we hold the meetings in Middlesex County,” said New Jersey Romance Writers President Gail Freeman of Neptune City.

Authors Lois Winston, Irene Peterson, Caridad Pineiro and Joy Nash had signed their books at the Ocean County Book Fest earlier this year, and the connection to the library grew, so the officers decided to explore the resources here.

Each romance writer received a plastic fan to keep herself cool during what was to be a one-hour session but lasted two-and-a-half hours after published and unpublished authors discovered they could get personal tutoring from the librarians.

“It’s not just the woman behind the desk, saying, “Shhhh!’ all the time,” said Peterson of Bridgewater, author of “Glory Days” (the 2006 Golden Leaf winner for best single title) and the new “Kisses To Go,” both published by Kensington Zebra.

Principal Librarian Carol Zsigna said “the librarians will go to the ends of the earth to find something for you.”

She showed the writers reference books such as “The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England, From 1811-1901” and “Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations and Footwear through the Ages.”

Also available are “Everyday Life in Medieval Times,” “Character Naming,” “Poisons and Antidotes” (for those who want to include mystery in their romance) and many more books useful to writers.

For the writer whose story takes place in another country or whose main character is from a different culture, the book “Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in 60 Countries” is filled with gems such as “never point your foot at anyone in Thailand” or “try not to use the word “no’ in Malaysia.”

The head librarian, showing a reference book, opened it to a page listing “Taming the Highlander,” 2006, by New Jersey Romance Writers member Terri Brisban.

Then it was off to the technology room with Senior Librarian Marguerite Dugas for tutoring on the library Web site and on public Web sites that can be accessed by everyone…

To read the full article, go here. And don’t forget to do your research!