Current Research ~ Keeping Up with Your Topic

(And a book give away.)

By Susan Page Davis

Susan Page Davis is the author of seven historical romances from Heartsong Presents, two romantic suspense novels from Harvest House, and Feather, a young adult fantasy from JourneyForth, with more on the horizon. She’s the mother of six homeschooled children and wife of a newspaper editor.

Research is part of the writing of every book, no matter what genre. I always spent large chunks of time researching my historicals, but I’ve found that I do as much research for a contemporary mystery or suspense book.

In writing seven historical novels, I gathered a library of books on many topics—among them the U.S. Cavalry, American Indians, colonial times, and Maine statehood. I also used the Internet and visited historical places.

For my romantic suspense novel Frasier Island, I immersed myself in military Websites, called every person I knew (and some I didn’t know) connected to the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, studied the atlas, read up on surface-to-air missiles, whales, and helicopters. I found that I needed to know things I’d never paid attention to before—when to salute, Pacific fauna and flora, types of ships plying the northern-central pacific, uniform colors and insignia.

When Frasier Island was bought, I of course did a final run-through before handing in the final draft. It had been three years or so since I initially wrote the manuscript, and as I read through it, several things struck me. I began jotting down topics to check on.

Hadn’t I just read in the newspaper something about sonar hurting marine mammals? I couldn’t let my readers think my heroes were hurting whales. The topic was much “hotter” than it had been when I wrote the rough draft. I pulled out my old research notes and began searching the Web for the very latest information. Then I called my brother, a retired Coast Guard officer, and had a lengthy discussion of sonar with him. We talked about “signatures” and “arrays” and other terms I’d come across in my reading. I mulled the new data over for a while and felt ready to revise.

The next step was a careful word search in the manuscript. I studied each reference I’d made to sonar, especially in sections where the equipment played a major part in the story. Passive sonar picks up incoming sounds, while active sonar sends out a signal and reads the reverberations off objects. Those active signals have been thought to cause physical damage in whales, porpoises and other marine mammals.

I decided to make it clear throughout that my heroes were using passive sonar, not active sonar. It worked just as well, perhaps better, for my story, since my characters wouldn’t want to put out signals an enemy could intercept. This also meant I didn’t have to worry about letters from animal lovers protesting my characters’ cruelty.

The sonar was just the beginning of my renewed research, however. I had made up a name for an aircraft carrier in the book—the George W. Bush. To my chagrin, I learned that a real carrier was under construction, but it was named for the other President Bush—George H. W. The new ship would go into service shortly after my publication date. I decided to use it in the book, though I couldn’t find out before my deadline whether the real Bush would serve in the Atlantic or the Pacific. My fictional ship is on duty in the Pacific.

I also realized that I needed to reflect new technological advances in the book. The characters use helicopters, rocket launchers, underwater cameras, automated reloading machinery for missile launchers, and tons of other equipment. Those things change fast.

Okay, so you can’t stay right on top of everything. I did the best I could, naming equipment in use at the time I wrote the book and fudging some other things. For instance, in the battle at the end of the book, Rachel starts to describe an enemy helicopter, gives up and says, “It looks like an antique.”

I even did some last-minute checking on Navy regulations for required service and retirement options. Finally I knew I’d done all I could, and it was time to let it go. But I knew I’d done as much, if not more, research for that book than for any of my historicals.

Next up was Finding Marie, another romantic suspense. I hoped that one would require less research. Let’s just say I now know more about time zones and our naval presence in Japan than I ever imagined. I called the post office to make sure Express Mail was guaranteed. My husband and I took the kids to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut for an overnight outing. I bothered my brother again about sailing vessels and flare guns and what the Coast Guard officer says to the bad guys in the boat they are chasing. (For starters, “This is the U.S. Coast Guard. Heave to and prepare to be boarded.”)

It’s a different kind of research than I use for historicals, but it’s just as rewarding. It’s also introduced me to many wonderful people. Finding a live person in the occupation you’re writing about gives the writer a huge advantage. I’ve met police officers, military personnel, attorneys, and medical workers who willingly shared their expertise with me. All it takes is a little boldness. A few have said no to me, but the majority were eager to help.

~Gina here: To enter to win a copy of FRASIER ISLAND, leave a comment below.~