As I settle in to my new cyber-home, I wanted to give you a brief update on what I’ll be doing next. I will still update my blog every Monday, and whenever a friend releases a new book, I’ll happily feature that on my New Fiction Wednesday slot. As for upcoming topics . . .
People ask all the time about where I get my ideas. For me, since I write historicals, most of my plots come from history itself. I love to read about historical events so research is a pleasure. Inevitably I come across some story or tidbit of little-renown and play the What-if Game. What if someone faced that situation—how would they react? What would the best possible reaction be? The worst? The most dramatic? What if their personal failures or insecurities were the exact shortcomings that would either help or hinder such a situation? And the game goes on.
I admit that I collect far more research than I can possibly use in any given story. Sometimes I’m able to put something aside and hope to use it in a future story, but mostly I just can’t fit everything in regardless of how much I’d like to. The story must be served first, since I’m not writing a text book.
So check back on Monday as I reveal some of my research techniques and stories that caught my attention for one reason or another—ones that couldn’t be squeezed in to any of my stories no matter how hard I tried.
I’ll start with Gilded Age stories, in New York because that’s where Bees In The Butterfly Garden takes place. Oh, what fun I had learning about that great city! I know I don’t have what it takes to have actually lived during that era—I’d no doubt have been a servant rather than having been blessed with a life of ease—but it’s fun to put myself there and imagine how it might have been. That is, of course, why I love reading historical novels.
So come back and visit with me and hear about some little known histories from the Gilded Age, New York, Denver and Chicago—all three cities I have reasons to investigate. 🙂
And now about the winners. Last night on my previous post, I added a Comment revealing the names of the winners to my Bonus contest which I ran in conjunction with the Scavenger Hunt. (That was so much fun I’m sure I’ll be involved in another one when my next book releases early 2013!)
The winners of my Bonus contest are:
Marsha P.
Jackie Tessnair
Loraine Nunley
Ladies, please contact me privately at maureen@maureenlang.com, so I can find out where to ship your choice of any one of my books, along with the butterfly necklace that commemorates the release of Bees In The Butterfly Garden.
For those who entered but did not win, rest assured I’ll be involved in more contests in the future, some much nearer than next year’s Scavenger Hunt. My publisher, Tyndale House, is helping me with a contest in July to celebrate Bees In The Butterfly Garden, so I’ll be sure to let you know details about that.
Happy Reading!
Join Me!