STARTING OVER
Very soon, you’ll see an announcement that has been months and months in the making. I’m starting a new series with a new publisher and a new editor. This is like taking a different job . . . in a new city . . . with a company you’ve never worked for.
It’s not that my doings are such a huge deal. It’s just that in this era of publishing, when money is tight for new projects, and most writers have a publishing record that has a few flaws – including me – any assurance that you’re going to be working for the next three years is very welcome. But also a little scary.
I’m going to be writing alternative history, with a few supernatural elements. The research is a bear. You have to know what DID happen to decide what DIDN’T happen. And there are so many branches leading off from your initial premise that this is a different version of a familiar world. What would the banking situation be? How would boundaries be enforced? How would a once-united country, now broken into pieces, be policed? The answers to those questions lead off into yet more questions, until the project seems impossible.
Maybe I should have thought twice before tackling this project, huh? Especially since it includes two hot topics: guns and cars. Gun people and car people are famous for knowing the minutiae of their enthusiasms, and they will call your bluff with glee if you make a mistake.
I go through this process with some regularity: If gun people are so vigilant, why not just invent a gun? (Rex Stout did, and he invented a car, too.) But I’d almost certainly have to know how it was loaded and how it was fired. Then why not use a gun actually in production? Because it was manufactured in a place that no longer exists, in my new world. Why not just blur over all the details? Because real gun people will want to know. How many real gun people read my books? Maybe not many, but I want them to be happy.
How much research is enough? How much is too much? Have you ever stopped a book cold because you simply didn’t find the research credible?
Charlaine Harris
I'm already looking forward to it!
Posted by: Bill Crider | March 20, 2017 at 07:57 AM
Bill, if it turns out like it is in my head, it will be fine. But as you know, there's many a slip between the fingers, the brain, and the keyboard.
Posted by: Charlaine Harris | March 20, 2017 at 08:07 AM
Congrats, Charlaine. I hope you're energized and excited by the new challenge. I'm sure the resulting books will be amazing and I can't wait to read them.
Posted by: Laura DiSilverio | March 21, 2017 at 05:25 AM
You can do it!
Posted by: Dean James | March 21, 2017 at 01:57 PM
Laura and Dean, I'm very excited about this, and I'm having a great time so far. The research is a huge pain, though.
Posted by: Charlaine Harris | March 21, 2017 at 02:36 PM
Congratulations on your move, Charlaine. I know the research is a "huge pain" but I'm looking forward to this new series from your fertile imagination.
Posted by: Elaine Viets | March 21, 2017 at 04:41 PM
I am giving you a standing ovation! Cannot wait to read this… Hooray hooray hooray. And you are unbelievable.
Posted by: Hank Phillippi Ryan | March 22, 2017 at 04:34 AM
Elaine and Hank, approval by my peers makes me feel incredibly good. That's the great thing about being a mystery writer; I get to hang around with other mystery writers.
Posted by: Charlaine Harris | March 22, 2017 at 05:25 AM
Charlaine, I wish you the best on this. I know from experience that research is both joyful and panic inducing. Most of all, I'm impressed that you'd take on a challenge like this...but then, if not you, who would?
Posted by: Joanna Campbell Slan | March 23, 2017 at 06:38 PM