The Fine Art of Research, Shana Galen {Guest #Author + #Giveaway}

First of all, I want to say thank you to The Book Faery for inviting me to blog here again! I’m honored and appreciative. And thanks to all of you for stopping by.

I have to say I really like the title for my blog. I came up with it and then just admired it for a few moments, kind of wishing it were actually true. That’s because my research process is nothing like a fine art. It’s one of those things that’s born out of necessity. Lately, my research process involves writing around the research and then going back when I absolutely can’t move the story forward without looking up some crucial information. And that was the definitely the case with The Rogue Pirate’s Bride.

Research wasn’t always thus. Once upon a time, before I had a husband and a toddler, I enjoyed research. I read whole non-fiction books on topics like Underwear in the Nineteenth Century, Regency Cant, Cooking Through the Ages. I enjoyed these books and savored them.

And thank God I read them when I did because I surely do not have time to read them now!

But as an author of historical romance, I have to carve out time for research. It’s part of the job description. And this is doubly the case when you’re writing a book about something you know nothing about. Something like sailing and ships in the nineteenth century. Something like rogue pirates.

Now you may say, Shana, why would you choose to write a pirate book when you have a small child and very little time to write and know nothing about pirates? That, dear reader, would fall under the topic of Logic, and this blog is about Research.

In all honesty, I’ve wanted to write a book with a pirate hero for years. And I went in to it thinking that I’d just research as I wrote (which is my strategy most of the time). Usually when I’m writing a scene and I come to a fact I need to look up or verify, I put XX in the text and keep writing. Later, when I have time (like at 2 in the morning), I search for all the XXes and look those facts up. I started The Rogue Pirate’s Bride this way. And pretty quickly it read like this:

Bastien hurried down the XX and walked along the XX to the XX. He nodded to the XX and stopped to inspect the XX. But his mind was on Raeven, locked in the XX. 

Not riveted by the story? Me neither. All of those lovely details are so important to set the scene and evoke the feel of the period and the setting. So I did what every great writer does.

I called my dad.

I’m lucky enough to have a father who knows a lot about sailing and ships. And I’m lucky that he agreed to sit down with me and listen to large sections of The Rogue Pirate’s Bride to help me with all those pesky details. Sure, I went to the library and checked out a stack of books on ships and sailing, but it’s not quite the same as having an expert just one text away.

So that’s it. That’s my research process. There’s nothing romantic or mysterious about it. Nothing fine-artish. It’s kind of like everything else in my life–fast, furious, and by the seat of my pants.

What about you? Have you ever gotten yourself in over your head and had to call on Dad (or someone else) to bail you out?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Shana Galen is the author of five Regency historicals, including the Rita-nominated Blackthorne’s Bride. Her books have been sold in Brazil, Russia, and the Netherlands and featured in the Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs. A former English teacher in Houston’s inner city, Shana now writes full time. She is a happily married wife and mother of a daughter and a spoiled cat and lives in Houston, Texas, where she is working on her next regency romance series! For more information please visit www.shanagalen.com, like her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.

THE ROGUE PIRATE’S BRIDE BY SHANA GALEN – IN STORES FEBRUARY 2012

 

Revenge should be sweet, but it may cost him everything…

Out to avenge the death of his mentor, Bastien discovers himself astonishingly out of his depth when confronted with a beautiful, daring young woman who is out for his blood…

Forgiveness is unthinkable, but may be her only hope…

British Admiral’s daughter Raeven Russell believes Bastien responsible for her fiancé’s death. But once the fiery beauty crosses swords with Bastien, she’s not so sure she really wants him to change his wicked ways…

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (February 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402265557
• ISBN-13: 978-1402265556

BUY THE BOOK… Amazon | Barnes & Noble

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Thanks to Sourcebooks, we’re giving away TWO copies of  The Rogue Pirate’s Bride. This giveaway is open to all with a US/Canadian mailing address (No P.O Boxes) will run through the month of February until 11:59pm Feb 29, 2012.