Guest Post - The Long & Winding Road of Research - Deniz Bevan

Today I welcome Deniz Bevan! I asked her to talk about research and her upcoming release, Druid's Moon.

The Long and Winding Road of Research

A guest post by Deniz Bevan

Every time I finish a story, I think to myself, “next time I’ll write something contemporary, set in the town I live in, so that I don’t have to do any research!”

In over three decades of writing, this has still yet to happen!

Druid’s Moon started out with an idea from a dream: A man and a woman in a storeroom in a cave, with the door barred, and antagonists on the other side of the door, doing their darndest to get in. Somehow, I knew that the man had been a beast, and that there were even more evil creatures in the depths of the cave, and they had to be defeated.

The fantasy aspect was easy to create! Then came all the bits and pieces of the plot and character backgrounds, and suddenly I had a research list of more than 10 all-encompassing items.

Here are a few:

Kraken: How to merge previous legends with mine
Archaeology: Daily life on a dig, qualifications, language
Cornwall: Locations and languages
Noble families of England, Scotland and Wales: A plausible name and ancestry for Frederick
Fairy tales: Genre staples for Beauty and the Beast tales

There were other items I read up on, including druids and their tombs and Welsh and Cornish myths and legends, that I found I didn’t need as much after all, but everything that had the right sort of flavour, I would read. The most exciting part is always the serendipity of research something and realising that you got it exactly right, or that your story and setting have dovetailed nicely into the history of that location.

The historical aspects of some of my research areas were the ones that really sent me down rabbit holes. The history of shipping, the history of Cornwall... Even ancient art depicting retellings of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale would pique my interest. I’d go to the university library and come back with two stacks of books!

While I’m in the midst of drafting and editing, I try not to read fiction set in my time or place, as I don’t want to be unduly influenced. Later, when edits are nearly complete, I might turn to fiction, to see how other authors have addressed the same location or central idea.

Eventually, there comes a moment when I realise I’m using research as an excuse to procrastinate on edits.

When that happens, focusing on the characters themselves generally gets me back into the story. Some of the most fun research is keeping an eye out for character faces!

Here are Lyne and Frederick:

Frederick is a photo of Romain Grosjean that I came across in my local newspaper; and Lyne is an unnamed screenshot from a survey I was in the middle of taking!

You just never know where the research road will take you...

Druid’s Moon
By Deniz Bevan

Beauty to his Beast…

Lyne Vanlith, an archaeologist who seeks a logical explanation to any mystery, discovers an ancient Druidic curse on her first dig. When the signs foretold by the curse descend on her, Lyne can’t find a reasonable interpretation.

And that’s even before a Beast rescues her from a monstrous sea-creature. She drops a grateful kiss on the snout of the Beast, who transforms into a man, Frederick Cunnick, Baron of Lansladron. Lyne is meant to be Beauty to his Beast—and break the curse forever.

Now both spellkeeper and monster are targeting Lyne. She must take up her legendary role, to defeat the curse and save Frederick—and herself. Instead of logic, for the first time, Lyne must trust her heart.

Release date – September 20, 2022
$14.95, 6x9 trade paperback, 226 pages
Fantasy – Romance (FIC009090) / Paranormal (FIC009050) / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology (FIC010000)
Print ISBN 9781939844866 / EBook ISBN 9781939844873
$4.99 EBook available in all formats

A firm believer in burning the candle at both ends, Deniz Bevan is generally writing a new novel while editing another and blogging about her reading and research adventures. Other days, she tries to stay off the web altogether, as she delves into the history, mystery, and romance of her characters’ lives. http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/

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Blogging Responsibly - It's Personal

Sometimes I forget that when I blog it's visible to more than just my fellow bloggers. And then something happens, like a friend or family member bringing up something I blogged about. For me, the wake up call to really pay attention to what I was posting if it had to do with a real life topic, such as a historical incident, were blog comments from people that weren't bloggers, but someone who had a personal connection to something I'd posted about.

Natalie Wood
By unknown photographer (ebay)
[Public domain],
 via Wikimedia Commons

You see, my topics for the 2012 A-to-Z Challenge and the 2013 A-to-Z were The Wild West and History's Mysteries, respectively. Several of my posts during those challenges caught the eyes of people who knew more about the topics than I did. One was a post about the mystery behind Natalie Wood's death. I heard from someone who had written a book about her death, and had worked with the captain of the ship they'd been on when she died. The post that drew the most attention, though, had to do with the outlaw Clay Allison. Oddly, he's someone I find few people have heard of, yet the tales of his outlaw days cause Billy the Kid to pale in comparison. I find him fascinating, and I had a lot of fun writing the post about him. 

Bearing in mind, of course, that this was during the A-to-Z, so research time wasn't what it might have been for a regular once per week post, I spent a few hours reading up on Clay Allison. There were some fantastic tales about his escapades, but what got skirted over in the information I found was the reasons behind what he'd done and how he'd become an outlaw. And a good percentage of the information out there was likely false, stuff made up in the publications of the day. 

Photo of Clay Allison courtesy of Find a Grave member John "J-Cat" Griffith

I was in it for fun, though, and posted the various tales and information. I hope that there were folks who did research on their own after reading about him, those whose interest was piqued by hearing his tales. But at the same time, I perpetuated the myths that were out there, too. And a few of his descendants contacted me in the blog comments. They were nice guys, no flaming or accusations, and they thanked me for bringing him back into people's awareness. But their comments reminded me that I was posting about real people, people who had family or acquaintances who were still around. Yes, I'm sure they're accustomed to reading the stuff that's out there, and I even got a book recommendation out of it so I can get more information on a subject that interests me. And I'm not going to lie. I'm enough of a wild west buff that I geeked out internally about being contacted by his descendants. But a subject I enjoyed reading and writing about was personal history to them, not just a story.

So my reminder to you is the same as the reminder to me: When you're posting away, thinking this is just a blog, not a newspaper or novel, remember that there's always someone out there for whom the subject could be personal.

Have you been contacted by someone with personal ties to a subject you've blogged about? How did it go? Are you aware of Clay Allison? Who do you think was responsible for Natalie Wood's death? 

May you find your Muse.