The Price of Peanuts - Romance Writers Weekly - #lovechatwrite

In 2023, Mr. C and I drove across Canada. We visited Truro and a writer friend of mine brought us to all the sites I mentioned in After Words, including the Salmon River Tidal Bore viewing area!

​I love this week’s blog hop topic!

What research do you do for your books?

I haven't actually researched the price of peanuts, but I feel like I've researched almost everything else, LOL!
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I am not sure I could have written the books I have so far if it wasn’t for the internet. You know those photos of author from pre-computer days showing them in their libraries surrounded by shelves and piles of books? Those books weren’t for fun. They were for all the research a writer does! Now the internet takes the place of those lovely tomes.

You might think a romance writer wouldn’t have to do research. But I’ve looked up articles on personality traits and relationship counselling. I searched the price of bear paws on the black market and DNA testing. I’ve googled bus schedules in Vancouver and tide charts in Truro.

The reason for the tide charts actually ties into a different type of research. I love dual timeline stories (where one plot takes place in the present and the other in the past). A few years ago, I was trolling the internet looking for inspiration and discovered the Canadian Letters and Images Project.

CLIP is an online archive of the Canadian war experience curated by the Department of History at Vancouver Island University. As I clicked deeper and deeper into the site, I found the diary of William Henry Smith. The mystery surrounding this diary became the catalyst for After Words, my later-in-life contemporary romance. It is definitely the book I spent the most time researching, both before and during the actual writing stage. If you want to read the first chapter, you can find it here!
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Now, be sure to hop over to Leslie Hachtel to find out what research she does! 

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Leeza Boychuk is battling to save a failing business, furious at her philandering ex-husband, and devastated her son has put an ocean between them. The heartbreaking diary she discovers in her grandfather’s effects becomes more than a distraction from the disaster that is her life—it becomes a chance to right a decades-old wrong.

Determined to return the journal to the soldier’s family, she enlists the help of Gavin Fletcher, an enigmatic widower. His calm steadfastness is soothing to Leeza’s tattered soul, until a soul-searing kiss kindles a longing she isn’t ready to explore.

But Leeza can’t abandon her quest…even if it means confronting her feelings for this increasingly intriguing man.

Get it today! 

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Harper Forbes embarks on a journey of a lifetime as she follows her friend to Scotland, only to discover that she, too, has been mysteriously transported back in time to the 1500s. In this unfamiliar and perilous world, Harper must navigate through dangers and challenges she never could have imagined. But amidst the chaos and uncertainty, she finds not only her friend but also a love that transcends time itself. What will fate have in store for her? Join Harper on an unforgettable adventure filled with romance, danger, and the timeless power of true love.
 
Start reading now!