I am posting a day early due to the IWSG anthology release.
May 3 Question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?
I’ve had to research a lot of things for my two non-fiction books and series of five NA fiction books.
By the time Book V was released, Cristy was no longer the head coach. I did manage to find her on Facebook and was able to send her a copy of The Circle of Friends: Book V...Heather.
The big news for the day is the release of the IWSG anthology!
Mysteries of Death and Life
An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology
Can a lost hero find redemption?
What if Death himself wanted to die? Can deliverance be found on a bloody battlefield? Could the gift of silvering become a prison for those who possessed it? Will an ancient warrior be forever the caretaker of a house of mystery?
Delving into the depths of the tortured hero, twelve authors explore the realms of fantasy in this enthralling and thought-provoking collection. Featuring the talents of Jen Chandler, L. Nahay, Renee Cheung, Roland Yeomans, Elizabeth Seckman, Olga Godim, Yvonne Ventresca, Ellen Jacobson, Sean McLachlan, Erika Beebe, Tyrean Martinson, and Sarah Foster.
Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these twelve tales will take you into the heart of heroes who have fallen from grace. Join the journey and discover a hero’s redemption!
In this marvelous collection of speculative fiction, we journey through twelve wonderfully written tales to find out if the tortured hero can be redeemed. - Christine Rains, author
The authors have done us a favour by all being darned good at their craft. Recommended for fantasy fans. - Gordon Long, author
Website - Lost Hero Anthology
$14.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 226 pages
Fantasy, Freedom Fox Press
Print ISBN 9781939844361 eBook ISBN 9781939844378
$4.99 EBook available in all formats
Find at Goodreads
Purchase print at Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million
Purchase eBook at Barnes & Noble / iTunes / Kobo / Amazon / Amazon UK / Amazon CA
What’s the most unique thing you’ve ever researched?
Awesome that the assistant coach helped you with your book. And what a big day for the anthology. Congrats to all the writers!
ReplyDeleteCool the coach helped you.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all of the Hero Lost authors!
That's awesome that the coach was able to help you. Thanks for all of your hard work on the anthology!
ReplyDeleteThat is great that the coach helped out indeed. Congrats to all the authors on the big release!
ReplyDeleteThat would have been fun. When someone is passionate about their job, I could listen forever. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Research is so much fun and so easy to get lost in. Hooray the anthology is out!
ReplyDeleteOops! I meant to post something right away for today and put my post schedule for the regular day ... I just fixed it after I saw your post. Oy.
ReplyDeleteI think it's cool that you interviewed a coach for inside tips for your book!
Thank you for all you do, Diane!
That's cool she was willing to help you with your research. :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the authors of Hero Lost!
Thanks, everyone. Big congrats to all 12 authors. Enjoy your day.
ReplyDeleteLoved your post and I wish Hero's Lost much luck.
ReplyDeleteShould be the success it deserves.
Yvonne.
Wow! Did You play basketball at all growing up? Great post!
ReplyDeleteMy heartfelt congrats to all the writers and not forgetting the Coach who obviously had a big hand to play in motivating team spirits
ReplyDeleteI tweeted about the anthology today. It looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteResearch...I'm sure I've made some watchlists. I've looked how to hide a bomb, best places to cross the Texas/Mexican border, how to fake a heart attack death, and more. While everything I research doesn't always make the cut in a book, it's always part of the process.
That does sound like a pretty cool thing to research. And congrats on the release! There are some great writers there.
ReplyDeleteI love that you had the coach's input!
ReplyDeleteI'll be answering this question tomorrow...
Some people can really be helpful can't they? Glad you managed to trace her and send her a book.
ReplyDeleteHero Lost sounds a pretty good and varied collection. Congratulations to everyone.
Erika - LOL! I am 5'3" and horrible at basketball.
ReplyDeleteCarol, and puts you on a government watch list. LOL
Great that the coach helped out. Huge congratulations to the authors of HERO LOST.
ReplyDeleteAh, lost hero's have been found, lol.
ReplyDeleteNice to do in person research.
Hmm...the most interesting thing I've ever researched was probably Nordic mythology for Monsters in Our Wake. I decided to pepper the story with Scandinavian "Easter eggs" as a nod to my heritage, so I learned all about the Nøkken and other mysterious creatures. It was a lot of fun. The oil industry part of the required research, not so much.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the anthology! It looks great.
Hi Diane - congratulations to the Anthology authors and you for all your help. Getting the advice of someone in the know must be so encouraging ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great when you can get answers from the horse's mouth so to speak? I've spoken with doctors, nurses,firefighters and police officers for some of mine. I enjoy speaking to the locals when i visit some place for research too.
ReplyDeleteYour research sounds like fun. It's nice she was so helpful. I've researched a lot, but one of the most interesting topics was about a woman who posed as a man to enlist to fight in the Revolutionary War.
ReplyDeleteI really like the cover art for Hero Lost and am looking forward to reading the stories.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that you were able to track down the coach and give her a copy of your book.
ReplyDeleteHere's to the new anthology!! I look forward to reading it.
As a writer, I discovered working with Subject Matter Experts was the key to hidden worlds. Wonderful you found a junior assistant coach willing to take you behind the scenes. Nice you were able to find Cristy & sender her a copy of The Circle of Friends: Book V...Heather.
ReplyDeleteYay for Lost Hero! Can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteI love it when research creates new friendships and bonds. There's nothing better, right?
That's super neat that the coach helped. Don't you love it when people take you as a "serious" writer and are willing to help? It's a gratifying compliment.
ReplyDeleteI bet she enjoyed her copy of the book too! :)
How cool is that! And she actually helped you:) I love when people cooperate with your writing needs.
ReplyDeleteJH, that would be fun research.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I've read several stories of women who did that.
IB, I hope she did.
Congrats to all the anthology authors! It sounds great and the reviews are looking good, too.
ReplyDeleteLove that the coach helped you. :)
Shah X
shahwharton.com
I've found that most people are pretty willing to answer questions and help out with research and a lot of them will go out of their way to do it. It was a nice gesture for you to send Cristy a copy of the book to show that her help was worth the effort she put in for you.
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Congrats to the writers in the Hero Anthology!
ReplyDeleteGood job.
Thanks for your comment on my post today. To answer your question on how the guys keep the gourds on
ReplyDelete...it's with string tied strategically in the nether region. There was a close-up photo but chose not to put it on my blog as it might be too up close and personal. So exciting about the anthology.
I would say the most important thing I have researched and I am still researching is facts for my series that I am writer. Congrats also to all the writers for the anthology. I have my copy on my iPad Mini.
ReplyDeleteShalom aleichem,
Pat G
Intriguing book, awesome cover.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all its contributors.
Thank you, Diane.
Being able to talk to people for research purposes is awesome.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the anthology authors!!!!
That's awesome the coach helped you! And congratulations to all the anthology authors. :) It's a fantastic book.
ReplyDeleteOh! Book release! I will have to go get it! And fun to have an excuse to reach out to someone admirable!
ReplyDeleteCalling up a real coach to ask questions? Now that takes guts. I'm not sure I would have been able to do it. Way to go, Diane.
ReplyDeleteThat's cool you got to connect with a real person in the position you were researching. Adds a certain level of authenticity to it!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's pretty freakin' cool that the Clemson coach responded back to you. I wanted to reach out to some people about my fictional book, but feared I wouldn't hear back, but I guess the worst that could happen is, well, nothing, right?
ReplyDeleteFYI, I made the big move away from Blogger and can be found at:
Elsie Amata
That's awesome that you got such great help from the coach! People are so often generous with their time and knowledge! :)
ReplyDeleteYou were lucky in your research. In my experience as a journalist, less than half people I apply to for some of my investigative articles answer me at all. It's rewarding when a person you want to talk to is willing and able to give you what you need.
ReplyDeleteResearch is one of my favorite aspects of writing. Knowing when to stop is a problem at times. Readers are quick to pick up fake facts so let's not disappoint. I hope the anthology burns up the Amazon charts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else that was WAY COOL.
ReplyDelete' Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
Congrats to all on the release of the anthology. I look forward to reading.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome you approached Cristy and she was open to helping you! Approaching people can be scary, so it's very cool you did it and that it was successful.
Cool research experience! I always love getting to learn more from real people.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the anthology release!
That's cool that you got to interview the coach. I've only researched online. Someday when I'm brave, and have the need, I might give it a try :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you got the help you needed. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteSo cool! What a wonderful way to research. Another author, who wrote about zombies did the same thing with scientists, and the response he achieved was amazing too! Folks love helping!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read the new book! Sounds wonderful! I need a hero right now!
Research is so much fun. You get to meet all kinds of people.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading the anthology.
It's great that you were able to track her down and send her a copy of the book she help you research. It's important to complete that circle.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the Hero Lost authors.
It's great you were able to send the person who helped you with your research a copy of the book.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to be able to go to a direct source regarding a particular job. You'll get insights you might not find otherwise. Congrats to all involved in the anthology!
ReplyDeleteThat's very cool to get a response from someone in that position. I had the head physicist from University of California-Irvine respond to an email correcting me on the use or misuse of wormholes.
ReplyDeleteThat is cool that the coach was so cooperative and helpful.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow, that IS interesting research and cool that the coach could help you.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I did have to research some police info for my character who was a police officer. Luckily, I'm friends with the police chief in town so I could easily email him. :-)
I've got my copy of Hero Lost. Looking forward to diving in!
ReplyDeleteIt's great you got real info from a basketball coach. I love researching things and have occasionally done interviews with very helpful people. Congrats to the authors in the anthology!!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome way to do first hand research! Thanks for sharing and for all your hard work on the anthology we all really appreciate your support!
ReplyDeleteGoing to an actual coach gave you the inside scoop which I'm sure helped to authenticate the character. Good move.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the Hero Lost anthology...and well done on all your hard work, Diane!
I'm sure it's going to sell like hot cakes!
Congrats on the 12th year of blogging!
ReplyDeleteHope today is a good day.