The research tool I
turn to most often? How important is it to visit the sites I write about?
“Research” is a word that covers a lot of territory for me. How do you spell “purview”? (That’s
how.) Am I sure Chicago isn’t the capital of Illinois? (It isn’t,
Springfield is.) Is it true that
Burgundy’s edible snails are better than anywhere else? (That one did
require on site research and the answer is mais
oui!)
Art magazines, the New
York Times, museums (I write about a fundraiser at an art museum), and my
personal experiences are the major sources I consult. But I will admit that I
have fallen deeply into the Internet research trap, prone as it can be to
error. I feel best if I get what I need from Wikipedia, but not everything can
be found there, alas, with its reassuring footnotes. If my online information
is a little soft, I’ll try to cross check a source with other Internet sites,
but I know they tend to pick up and spread false information at the speed of
light, so that’s really not protection against mistakes. Rarely now do I scout
out physical maps, go to the library for resource materials, or write
entreatingly to an academic for help. I admit I am lazy and want and expect
instant, easy answers. Note that I’m not recommending this, only telling the
truth about myself.
Where I draw the line – and who wouldn’t, given the chance –
is setting. Santa Fe for the first Dani book? Well, of course I had to check
out the town and its restaurants and Christmas farolitos (those candles or electric lights in brown paper bags).
Manhattan for the second in the series? As a native of the city, I definitely
needed to remind myself of the joys of the Upper East Side and the 24/7 noise
levels. I already knew and loved those places, which is why I wanted to write
love letters to them in my books. But it was important to figure out where
crimes might have happened, right?
I didn’t go to a small college town outside Boston to
research the third in the series, MIXED UP WITH MURDER, which comes out in
February 2016. I knew so many of these towns, so many small colleges, so much
of that part of New England from growing up years that I felt I could conjure
my fictional town from affectionate memory. The hardest bit of research was
finding a name for my made-up college. It was difficult to find one not already
bestowed on a college or prep school, one that sounded like it could have been
started in the nineteenth century by descendants of Mayflower passengers, or
people who wished they were. That required days of trying out names and seeing
if they popped up online. Lynthorpe College does not exist, at least not in the
United States. Apparently, there’s an institution by that name in England,
however.
So, it’s a mixed bag. Basically, I look wherever I think I
can find a reliable answer to my question. And, if it requires knowledge of the
cuisine, I start packing.