When does research become a burden?

You’ve got this great idea for a novel, but, first, you need to do “a little” research. You go to the library and check out three or four great reference books. You know, the kind that can double as door stops. You scour the internet and download a ton of articles on your subject. You copy and paste dozens of quotes and tidbits. 

At last you’re ready to start your research. As you plow through those massive tomes and cutting edge papers the minutia begins to pile up. You find that your detective hero can’t get the DNA test back in 24 hours (it takes about two weeks for most DNA tests to come back from the lab) and that upsets the timeline of your plot. You learn that blood coagulates pretty quickly so your antagonist couldn’t return to the crime scene two days later, get blood on his shoes, and leave a blood trail down the street. Then you learn that your detective hero can’t be fired by his captain on the spot. It takes quite a bit of administrative gymnastics to fire someone working in any government job, be it local, state, or federal. Then you find...

Hey! Time out!

Research is essential for any good genre novel but don’t let it get in the way of a good story. Use the information wisely. Don’t stress over those tiny facts, especially if they are of little consequence to the overall plot. Here are some morsels I’ve learned over the years that might help you in your research:

• Research jargon if it’s pertinent to the way your characters speak. For example, it would be helpful to learn how doctors speak on rounds if you’re writing a medical thriller.
• Learn only what’s pertinent to your story. In other words, if you’re writing about the movie industry, don’t get immersed in what a key grip does if you’re focusing on a romance between actors.
• If you’re writing a historical novel learn about the overall setting of the times such as customs, dress, occupations, politics, etc. But, don’t try to become an expert. People have devoted their lives to that. They’re called professors and they work at universities.
• You’re writing fiction so don’t be afraid to bend the facts a little. That DNA test I mentioned earlier—maybe the state crime lab gets a new machine that spits out the results in a matter of minutes.
• Don’t let your research get in the way of the story. Some people feel that since they’ve done all this research, no matter what, it’s got to appear in the story. Nobody wants to read pages and pages about how a fuel injector works.

So, relax. Do your due diligence regarding research, but don’t tie yourself into a knot over it. Writing should be enjoyable and so should research.

​Who is Hope Allerd, the protagonist of my new novel, Lethal Paradise? She is a dynamic, heroic, compassionate twenty-first Century woman. 
As an adolescent she, her parents and brother, came home from an outing to be surprised by a burglar. He shot and killed her mother and father. Her brother, Jack, was made a paraplegic. Hope was wounded and endured a prolonged hospitalization. 
But, Hope overcame this traumatic adolescence.
She also survived a close encounter with a serial murderer. This is chronicled in my previous novel, The Peril Protocol.
Left with PTSD from the above traumas, she struggles against this psychiatric problem while also dealing with the ups and downs of a tumultuous romantic relationship with investigative reporter Clive Andrew, her boyfriend.
Hope isn‘t perfect but she continues to seek to do the right thing. She is a physician with a sub specialty in infectious diseases, and as stated in a previous blog post, Hope Allerd wields compassion like a weapon against poverty and despair.
Hope, I feel, is a role model for young women, especially young African-American women who are considering a STEM career—in the same vein of how the Star Trek franchise inspired an actual young African-American girl to become an astronaut. 
Check out Hope’s adventures in my current novel, Lethal Paradise, and in my next novel due out in July 2020.

    There are a ton of indie books out there. And within this type of book there are numerous thrillers ranging from stories about a secret agent working against the clock to find and defuse a nuclear device to a woman in jeopardy of being murdered by her psychotic ex-husband. Why read one or another? 
    A bigger question is, Why read Lethal Paradise?
The story is a fast paced thrill ride, a fun beach read that keeps you turning pages. Many chapters end with cliffhangers. I think you’ll find yourself at the end of each chapters, as the clock strikes midnight, saying, “Just one more chapter.”
    There is a deep underlying theme about service that doesn’t get in the way of a fun story. I put a quote in the front matter from Mahatma Gandhi. It states: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” This hints at the novel’s theme. By the end you’ll see why that quote is important. And, who knows, the book may inspire you to “find yourself”.
     Hope Allerd, M.D.,  is a fiery, intelligent, driven African-American protagonist. She doesn’t back down from a fight. She doesn’t flourish a Glock or Walther PPK, but takes on the villains with wit and guile, using her extensive medical knowledge in a effort to right wrongs. She’d rather outwit the antagonists than outshoot them.
     Hope also wields compassion like a weapon against poverty and despair. She has a crusader’s heart when it comes to those less well off as we are and she acts decisively. 
      In short, Lethal Paradise is an exciting, nonstop adventure with a moral that will touch your heart. 
There aren’t many thrillers out there with a strong African-American female physician lead. I urge you to check it out. And, look for further adventures of Doctor Hope Allerd coming in July 2020.

      Rising like an emerald from the azure Caribbean Sea the island of Mousseux is an exotic getaway spot of sun, sand, and surf for visitors, sure to elicit unforgettable times of excitement and balmy relaxation. 
    The above could be an ad agency’s copy for a promotional campaign touting the benefits of vacationing on the fictional Caribbean island of Mousseux, the main setting for my new novel, Lethal Paradise. 
    Mousseux is a tiny island with a mountainous spine in the center. And like all islands in the region it was created by a volcanic eruption, the lava based soil insuring lush green vegetation from the tip of it’s mountain peaks to the edge of the sparkling beaches. 
    Speaking of beaches, they are the island’s biggest attraction. It became legend that a French explorer, one Pierre Leclerc, on discovering the island, stated that the beaches sparkled in the tropical sunlight. He therefore dubbed the island “Mousseux”, which means sparkling in French. The name stuck and tourism blossomed and grew in the late twentieth century. Days of  lounging on the beach in the warm tropical sun and of sipping Pina Coladas in the cool of the evening flowed.
    But, the very attraction to tourists is, ironically, the very reason that Mousseux has a sinister underbelly. The island is a divided nation. On one side of the rising jungle spine is a tropical tourist paradise of luxury hotels, five-star restaurants, and pristine sparkling private beaches. All this is supplemented by a corporate giant of a pharmaceutical company. This side practically oozes money. On the other side of that mountainous divide lies the rub. There, in small clearings within the jungle, are tiny villages containing the island’s poor. They eek out a living by taking menial jobs and gleaning whatever meager natural resources are available. Their beaches are not as pristine. In fact they are rocky. 
    But, those rocky beaches hold potential for the rich. They can be cleaned up and new hotels, casinos, theme parks, and corporate offices can be constructed along those beaches making the rich even richer. 
    And the poor are now a liability. A liability to be exterminated.  Refuse to swept away by a diabolical act of terror. 
    Who will stand in the gap for those poverty stricken islanders? Is there anyone willing to risk everything to set things right?
    This is the background of my new thriller, Lethal Paradise, a novel of intrigue, cover-ups, and heroism. Please, take a look at it. I think you’ll enjoy a thrilling read.

    You’re in the book store’s fiction section browsing the new arrivals. A cover catches your eye. You pick up the book and open it to the first chapter. The narrative waxes on about a cottage in an idyllic rolling meadow with grass so green that it takes your breath away. You continue to read about that bucolic scene for four more pages and feel your eyes closing as your consciousness wanes. Your eyes snap back open as you put the book back and move on to the next.
    The opening chapter of your novel is important. Next to the cover, it may be your most important selling point. So, what makes a good first chapter? What draws a reader in and causes him or her to tuck that book under their arm and head for the check out counter or hit that “Buy” button on Amazon?
    In the genres of thrillers and action adventure there are certain components that are common to all first chapters. This is not to say that they don’t work in any genre. Let’s take a look at them:

• The opening line or opening paragraph has to draw the reader in. Here are some opening lines. Can you name the novel they are from? 
  • Call me Ishmael.
  • Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.
  • It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
  • Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything truly wrong, he was arrested.
  • All this happened, more or less.

    Each is intriguing and practically drives you to continue reading. (By the way these are the   
    books: Moby Dick, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Pride and Prejudice, The Trial, and  
    Slaughterhouse-Five. How many did you get right?)

• Introduce your protagonist. The protagonist is usually in their ordinary world. But, in a thriller or action adventure novel it means the ordinary world may be fraught with problems or conflict which must be quickly addressed by the hero. This allows our hero to demonstrate their special ability and foreshadows the coming major conflict of the novel. The extreme example of this is the series of James Bond movies. Just after the opening credits, Bond finds himself in an impossible situation with death on his heels. He escapes with the aid of some space age gadget provided by Q. What we learn from this is that Bond is a man familiar with danger and that we’re in for a heck-of-a thrill ride. By the way, if your first chapter is fairly short, you can introduce your protagonist in the second chapter.
• Introduce your antagonist. They are usually the instigators of the main conflict of your story so get them involved early. Now, you don’t have to physically show your antagonist at the onset. Sometimes opening your novel with a dramatic scene of mayhem entices your reader with the level of malevolence, sophistication, and drive your antagonist possesses and thus the hurdles your protagonist will face.
• Your writing has to be done well in the opening chapter to keep your reader reading. This probably goes without saying.
• Finally, end your opening with a cliffhanger—the first step in a rising staircase of cliffhangers throughout your story.    

That’s my list for opening chapter must haves. I’ve tried to incorporate them in my new novel, LETHAL PARADISE. Check it out. 

It’s finally happened. My book is ready to drop. After years of writing I had to release my baby into the world. Although, you could call the entire project a labor of love, the final part, the editing, was (putting it mildly) excruciating. 
    Before I say more about my editing ordeal, I must admit that I would have preferred to hire a professional editor. Even a cursory check of blogs and articles on the internet will bear me out. A professional editor for you book is the way to go. However, I wanted to get the book out as I have several others coming down the pike. Unfortunately, I also had significant housing expenses. The final results: no money for an editor.
     Editing is difficult. And really no fun. But, it’s a necessary part of writing. This is how I did it:

• After completing the manuscript, I put it away for a while. 
• I then did three read throughs:
  •  The first to correct obvious mistakes and to fill in those blanks writers create when a name or description eludes you at the moment and you don’t want to stop the creative flow to search a thesaurus; 
  • The second was to adjust the timeline. You don’t want to say your character, John, flies to Europe in two days, then later write, “Three weeks later, John boarded the plane for Paris.” 
  • Lastly, I did a read through to evaluate the entire manuscript. Finally finished? Not by a long shot.
• I then obtained a beta reader. Her criticism gave me a sense that I was on the right track with the story. 
• I next obtained proofreading software and ran the manuscript through it multiple times. I looked for not just typos and grammar , but passive sentences, word repetitions, sentence length, and vague words.
• I then put the manuscript away again. This time when I came back to it, the manuscript read like a new story. This allowed me to see errors that I’d missed before.
• Finally, I read the manuscript twice more: once for the flow of the story and the second time aloud, to pick up any further grammar and typo errors, as well as poor sentence structure.

Although, not completely satisfied with the manuscript (I think no author is ever completely happy with their work) I decided to release it. 
    LETHAL PARADISE will be available on Amazon. I hope you take a look at it. 

​

​    In a few weeks I will be attending the Florida Writers Conference. This will be the first writers conference I've been to in several years. I’m certainly looking forward to going. If you've never been to a writers conference you may be asking yourself, why attend? After all it's pretty expensive. And it's likely to cut into your vacation time if you have a full time job. But, there are advantages to attending a writes conference. Here are just a few:

• You meet like-minded aspiring and published writers. Writing is a solitary profession. We sit alone in our writer’s loft or home office or corner table in the coffee shop and pound away on our laptops churning out chapter after chapter. Unless you’re collaborating on a project, you work day by day in self-imposed seclusion. By attending a writers conference you meet fellow writers; share mutual concerns; commiserate. In short, you realize you’re not alone in your endeavor. You share the same worries, joys, doubts, and triumphs.  
• The speakers provide useful information on writing and publishing. Most writers conferences feature speakers, experts in their field. You can learn a lot about your craft from them. Everything from the basics of novel writing to how to self publish to how to get an agent.
• There are agents present looking for the next great novel. If you’re interested in finding an agent for your work, a writers conference is no better place to search. Literary agents looking for new writers attend many conferences. But, this means you need to have a polished pitch and several pristine pages of your novel ready. And, who knows, that meeting could be the launch of your writing career.
• You can share your work with your peers. There’s usually a late night session where aspiring writers like you read their work to each other and undergo criticism. You can learn a lot for sessions like this.
• You leave inspired to complete that novel. By the end of the conference you’ll feel renewed, inspired, driven to finish that novel you’ve been struggling to complete.

    A writers conference can be an expense in time and money. But, if you find the right one, it can be a springboard to a long and satisfying writing career.  In the coming weeks I’ll share what I specifically learned from previous writers conferences and from the upcoming Florida Writers Conference. Stay tuned.

​    I’ve been working on a collection of science fiction stories for self publication. Now, I’ve finally come to the part I’ve been dreading--creating a cover. I would be the first to agree that the best option is to find a professional designer, give him or her your thoughts on what you’d like, and pay them a ton of cash. I’m sure the results would be breath taking. And would really drive sales.
    However, for those, like me, who don’t have money to burn, creating your own cover design may be the only  viable option. With this in mind and after doing some research, I’ve come up with seven ideas about book covers:

• Make the cover relevant to your subject. I know, this is obvious. But, how many times have you read a book with a great cover and upon completion of the manuscript realized it had nothing to do with the cover?
• The cover should  evoke a strong emotion. Try to avoid just conveying information. For example, a  thriller’s cover should convey feelings such as  mystery, suspense, intrigue,  and foreboding.
• Avoid crazy fonts. If your potential buyer can’t easily read the cover she’s likely going to pass on purchasing your book.
• Avoid cliched images. The shirtless hunk on he cover of a romance novel. A flying saucer gracing a science fiction tome. You get the idea. Be creative.
• Think long and hard about putting a face on the cover. It’s hard to find a model or stock portrait that looks like the protagonist you’ve described in your novel. But, having said this if you think you have a face that reflects your main character, by all means, use it.
• KISS. You know the old acronym—keep it simple, stupid. It applied to book covers. Cover art that’s too busy could be a turn off for a potential reader. It may say to them, “This book is going to be really complicated.” So, be careful.
• Consider your audience. This is really just a summary of the six previous ideas. You want that potential reader to see your cover and feel a sense of anticipation and excitement over what’s inside to the point that they’re willing to turn over their hard earned cash for you book.

    Well, there you have it. My take on book covers. I’m nearly finished with my design. I like it. Hopefully, potential readers will also.