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"Research! But before you set foot in your local library, ask your characters these four questions: Where do you live; what do you eat; what do you wear; and what do you do for a living? The answers will help you narrow down the scope of your readingand read you must! Travelogues, cookbooks, costume books, art books, biographies, histories, maps, books and newspapers written in your time period to catch the flavor of the languageall will give you details. But the best way to make your time period real is to experience the details yourself.

 

One of the most important elements to make a story come alive is the physical locale. All of my books are set in places that I have visited in person. The majority of the action in my latest romance, HALLOWEEN KNIGHT (Harlequin Historicals), takes place in and around Bodiam Castle, located in East Sussex, England."

 

"(...) because I actually do try to spend at least a modicum of time where I locate my stories. I find it tough to get the true feel of a place without visiting it."

 

"For Getting Lucky, for instance, (my upcoming March release) I spent a long weekend on Orcas Island, in Washington state, where the majority of the book is set. I took copious notes, got ideas for the story from places I visited, and STILL spent hours on The San Juan Island sites and the Washington State ferry site in the following months, checking my facts and looking up stuff I hadn't thought to research when I was there, or for scenes that didn't occur to me until I was deeper into the book. I also used military sites for various the Marine info for both this book and the one preceding it, Head Over Heels."