As many of you know, mystery series is centered around a busy little town at the very top of the Chesapeake Bay. Over the span of my first four books, I decided that Helen, my heroine, is more believable and interesting when she gets caught up in crime solving that introduces what I consider ‘a setting within a setting’. Helen may get entangled in sleuthing because of her friendships and career life as a real estate agent but the people she helps and the villains she tracks down have different expertise from her own. Unfortunately, as a writer, these differences can make storyline accuracies a challenge.
In Murder in the Master, Helen’s family, friends, and work life are introduced. The town of Port Anne, with its tiny shops and restaurants and generations of businesses, all reflect a blend of locals and newcomers that don’t always see eye to eye. Helen discovers a builder in the master bedroom of a new McMansion. Since I know the real estate business like the back of my hand, I could concentrate on plot, dialogue, and character building.
In Killer in the Kitchen, a celebrity chef and client leads Helen into the world of an online home shopping network like QVC. I had to learn about the back-office world of television production, products, and guests. To entertain readers, I learned terms and built a setting that reflects real life. Did I tie it all into real estate? Yes.
In Peril in the Pool House Helen is thrown into solving a politician’s family secrets of missing pilot boat captains and fraudulent shipping up and down the bay. I researched abandoned lighthouses, float planes versus seaplanes and environmental law affecting the Chesapeake. I enjoyed it.
Villain in the Vineyard immersed Helen in dealings with wine connoisseurs and questionable vineyard owners. When Detective Joe McAlister asks Helen what she knows about wine she says, “I’m never quite sure what to do at a wine-tasting. Do you?” “Taste wine?” Joe retorts. I still don’t know how to discern wines, casks, or soil but I learned enough to generate dialogue that wouldn’t be criticized later by a wine expert.
Back to my current misery. My fifth book is centered around the world of thoroughbred horse racing, principally because Fair Hill International Training Center is minutes from my home and can be another setting within Helen’s world. Thoroughbreds who win races at Saratoga and the Kentucky Derby train here in unsurpassed facilities. But I’m stumbling around trying to get a footing within this horsing community and it hasn’t been easy.
Dear Research Experts, what ideas do you have to break into a close-knit, private, and competitive world? I’m inclined to keep plotting based on potential crimes in this world and stop worrying about editing for accuracy at this point. Thoughts?
From a writer who doesn’t know the difference between a trot and a canter, Judy
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