Monday, July 23, 2012

Charlene Raddon: The Joys and Pitfalls of Research


What I love most about historical novels is their ability to carry me off to a world completely foreign to everything I know. Regency Period, Elizabethan days, Victorian times, Middle Ages, Biblical times, and the American Wild West; all are as different from our modern age as sugar is from salt. Among my collection of research books on the nineteenth century, I have a book called, The Good Old Days; They Were Terrible. And they were. So, are we crazy to be fascinated by those long gone days?
I don’t think so.

Even as a child I was captivated by tales of cowboys and Indians and the old West. My regret for having to live in a suburb of Los Angeles instead of on a farm out in the country, horrified my mother, who grew up on farms and hated the mere mention of the life. I suppose it’s natural that I came to love antiques. Anything from the past grabs my attention no matter where I am, books, furniture, china. The day my book Forever Mine was born was no different.

My husband and I were exploring the Oregon Coast and stopped at the Cape Meares Lighthouse. I had been there before, but this time, it was open to tourists. Inside a showcase I saw a photograph of a man and woman a volunteer explained was the wedding picture of one of Cape Meares’ keepers. The bride and groom looked anything but happy. In fact, she looked downright forlorn. 

After we left, my mind started spinning. What if that bride had never met her new husband before that day? What would it have been like to go to such an isolated place as a new wife to stranger? Running back to Mama would have been nigh impossible. The nearest town was ten miles away—miles of barely navigable old growth forest, with no real roads, and a boat trip up the bay, which could only be made during high tide. There was no such thing as an impromptu trip to town in those days. 

The Cape is very familiar to me. Friends and I have been going there for writers’ retreats for nearly twenty years. We rent a house in a little village with a view of the sea. We sleep, eat, write, walk the beach, then do it all over again. There are no stores, no gas stations, no school, not one single business. Most of the houses belong to Portlanders who only show up on weekends. During the week we, along with an occasional deer or a few elk, have the place to ourselves, and we love it. 

Much of Forever Mine was written there. Ariah and Bartholomew were jabbering in my head before I could write the first word. In fact, I was trying to wrap up the book’s predecessor, Taming Jenna. Ariah and Bart didn’t make it easy. They told me about themselves, and what their lives were like, and how I should write their story. 

And I listened.

The first thing I did to research Forever Mine, was to pay another visit to the lighthouse. I climbed the narrow, winding steps to the top where the wind threatened to snatch me off the catwalk and toss you into the sea if I didn’t hang onto the rail. Inside, I listened to the unique rattle and moan of the wind battering all those windows and the metal roof, and imagined Ariah and Bart standing beside me.

My second step was to visit our next door neighbor, artist Barbara ­­­Watkins, a long time resident of Cape Meares. Barbara put me in touch with a local historian, Jerry Hysmith who I immediately contacted. Besides giving me information about the area, Barbara and Jerry made it possible for me to communicate with three of the children of light keepers at the Cape. All were kind and obliging, but the most helpful was “Old Hig,” otherwise known as George W. Higgins, the son of George H. Higgins whose wedding photo first inspired m story.

“Old Hig” at the time, happened to be the age my father would have been had he lived past his forty-fifth birthday. George and I sort of adopted each other and exchanged many letters. He came to see me the year I was at Cape Meares working on Forever Mine, so we could meet. The dear man told me tale after tale of life at Cape Meares and the area. His father no longer worked at the light, but they lived in the village. Many of “Old Hig’s’ stories made their way into my book, including Bartholomew’s recollection of trying to cook and eat a cormorant, and the terrible storm that tossed a rock over two hundred feet in the air to smash a window in the light.

More research help was available at the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum where I found books full of stories told of the area by pioneers. I also acquired photographs there, which I have included here, even floor plans of the keepers’ houses. I studied geographical maps of the cape, and read books—about lighthouses, about pioneer days in the Tillamook area, and about sailors of the day (which helped in creating my wonderful character, Seamus, Bart’s assistant keeper). 

I learned early in my career to delve deep in my research, seeking those tiny details of life that can truly bring a book to life. Of course, I also learned to guard against using too much of the information I dug up. Often doing the research for a book is as much or more fun than writing the story. But it can also be a lot of time-consuming work.

Anyone have interesting anecdotes to share about doing your own research?

Charlene is giving away a $10. amazon gift card to one person who leaves a comment today! Please leave your email address to be entered in the drawing.

26 comments:

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  2. What a great story leading up to the writing of Forever Mine. Nope, that bride did not look happy. Neither did the groom. I love that you turned such a sour story such a wonderful HEA.

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  3. I loved FOREVER MINE when I read it as a paperback, Charlene. Your blog has made me want to take it off my keeper shelf and read it again. Love the way the lighthouse and the people who lived in it led the way to this wonderful story.

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  4. Thanks, Elizabeth. I've enjoyed working with it again and reliving the story and the experience of writing and researching it.

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  5. I so love a good historical romance. I have one plotted that I'd love to write. I've done a ton of research into the period and locale, but I'm scared to death of getting details wrong. There's always more to learn, you know? How do you know when you have enough historical knowledge to step out of the way and let the story come to life? Do you find yourself researching more as you write?

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    1. Yes, I do have to do more research as I go along. For example, when I started writing Forever Mine I didn't know that Ariah was going to cook a Greek feast for Easter, so I had to stop and look for recipes, and while I was at it, I looked for Greek Easter traditions. I think all you need to start a story is an understanding of the setting and the characters. Unless you do meticulous plotting before you start, you can't know what all you'll need, research wise, until you get there.

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  6. I have that book, The Good Old Days Weren't So Good, and sometimes I wonder how much reality I should insert into a historical. Your book sounds interesting. I was up in a lighthouse once when I was a kid and I wondered then how cook it would be to live in one.

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    1. Too much reality could be a downer, that's for sure, but it could also make the story more interesting. I love learning how people dealt with the difficulties of the lives they lived. As for living in a lighthouse, it would depend on where it was. One thing you can be sure of, it would be windy and I hate wind. Cape Meares now wouldn't be so bad if you lived where the houses were. There's a parking lot there now, but there are also lots of trees to break the wind. In 1891 the cape was kept pretty barren, so there was nothing to keep the wind from blowing you right off the cliff.

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  7. Wonderful detail, Char, about how you researched the book. That's my biggest challenge, I could spend days, weeks or months researching rather than writing. Even more of a challenge now that the Internet has so much at our fingertips! But nothing beats onsite research and that really shines through in "Forever Mine." Great book!
    ~Brit
    britdarby.com

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  8. Thanks Brit. I'm glad you liked it. I agree that my familiarity with Forever Mine's location improved the story and helps it shine. But my love for the place added polish.

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  9. Hi, Charlene! I was so intrigued by your blog today. I have always been fascinated by lighthouses and the life of its keeper and family. My husband and I live in southwest Florida and a fun place for us to visit is Key West, FL. Most people think of that town as being for parties and drinking. Oh no! The history there is amazing. My favorite place is the Key West Lighthouse. The old keeper's home has been restored and is filled with lots of photographs, mementoes and stories about the families who have lived there over the years. A daughter of one of the keepers wrote a book about her life there, but I have never been able to find a copy of it. I would so love to read it! The responsibility and the loneliness of lighthouse keepers has to have been so very difficult and I would love to learn more about how these wonderfully brave people managed to cope.

    Your novel, "Forever Mine" sounds fabulous and I have just put it on my Wish List. Thanks so much for sharing your story today!

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  10. You're very welcome, Connie. I hope you get Forever Mine and enjoy it. I too am fascinated by lighthouses and the people who lived in them. Susan Wiggs wrote a book about a lighthouse keeper too. It was very good. I plan to write another lighthouse story one of these days. Friend me on facebook if you'd like to find out what I'm doing and what my next book will be.

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  11. Love historical romance and this one sounds just awesome! Thanks for sharing this great story with us!

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  12. Thanks, Quilt Lady. I hope you buy it and enjoy it. Maybe you'll win the gift card.If you make quilts you must be pretty talented. I'm always in awe when I see a beautiful handmade quilt.

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  13. I love the pictures of the lighthouse! Until recently I thought all lighthouses were really tall.I really enjoyed the article, it was very informative. I will have to look up your books - they sound awesome!

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  14. Hi, Charlene. I love those pictures! And research. I think it's the reason I've only ever written one historical--I want to spend too much time researching and not enough writing!

    Good luck. Great post.

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  15. Hey, Liz. How goes it? Been a while. Thanks for your comment. I think you should try a historical. You'd quickly learn to control your research and produce a fantastic book. You're such a good writer.

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  16. Would love to win & purchase this book. I visited this lighthouse about 8 years ago & your post brings back such wonderful memories.

    Coolestmommy2000 at gmail dot com

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  17. You would definitely enjoy the book then. I hope you win. Thanks for dropping by.

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  18. When I read a book, it's nearly always evident when the author truly knows and understands the setting. Um, it's also evident when they don't, if it's an area I know about. Cape Meares is such a cool place. I've only been there twice but you did capture the aura of the place really well (it has been a while since I read the book).

    A cool moment for me was when I visited an old stone church near the farm where I grew up. One of the old-timers told me it was originally built as a general store. I could see the scene of the store clearly, and the heroine, Daisy Gardner, who ran down the stairs carrying something. She obviously had a mission in mind! I'd love to have more moments like that. :)

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  19. Glad you enjoyed the book, Jacquie. You're right, when an author truly knows her setting, it shows. But I've read stories set in places I'd have sworn the author had to have at least visited, then learned she'd never been there. It's all in the details you're able to collect when researching.

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  20. Sounds like a fantastic book, I love the setting. I would like to be entered into the giveaway please. My email address is jthanson at btinternet dot com.

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    1. Joanne, tune in tomorrow to http://www.elizabethdelisi.blogspot.com/ where I'm being interviewed. Anyone who comments and leaves an email address will be eligible to win a free copy of Forever Mine, the e-book.
      Hope to see you there.

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  21. That is a fascinating old photo of the newly married couple. I can see why it revved up your imagination. Very interesting to read about your research for the book.

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  22. Hey, Janie. Glad you got to see the photo. It is an intriguing one, isn't it? Course you rarely see people smile in those old photos but they don't usually look so despairing.

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