tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post2931605530137083278..comments2023-10-17T06:26:02.350-05:00Comments on Chatting with Anna Kathryn: Guest author Blythe Gifford: “You had to research what?”Anna Kathryn Lanierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10607469543348819190noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-63500268159460425002010-04-29T07:10:27.334-05:002010-04-29T07:10:27.334-05:00Carol L - You won a copy of HIS BORDER BRIDE! Tha...Carol L - You won a copy of HIS BORDER BRIDE! Thanks to Anna Kathryn, and all of you, for a wonderful chat!Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-83991984322823502982010-04-29T07:10:10.158-05:002010-04-29T07:10:10.158-05:00Carol L - You won a copy of HIS BORDER BRIDE! Tha...Carol L - You won a copy of HIS BORDER BRIDE! Thanks to Anna Kathryn, and all of you, for a wonderful chat!Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-56494723813559001492010-04-28T07:21:15.342-05:002010-04-28T07:21:15.342-05:00Caroline - thanks for your comments. It's nic...Caroline - thanks for your comments. It's nice to know readers care when we sweat the details. Saskia - it's true we do have to be curious to write, I think.<br />Thanks again to each of you who stopped to comment. Glad you enjoyed the post. I had fun writing it!Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-61901409023941850002010-04-28T06:21:19.735-05:002010-04-28T06:21:19.735-05:00I love your list of research topics, Blythe. What ...I love your list of research topics, Blythe. What a fun idea to list them! My latest novel led me to research beekeeping in the 18th Century and what a deserted lighthouse might be like inside, among many other subjects. That's what so great about writing, it keeps us learning. <br /><br /><br />His Border Bride is on my tbr list!Saskia Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02487645520140379667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-45487957940650042562010-04-27T14:54:52.571-05:002010-04-27T14:54:52.571-05:00Blythe, I so agree with you on research. Getting a...Blythe, I so agree with you on research. Getting all the details helps ground me for writing the story. I need to know much more about the subject than I include in the book because those details help me "feel" what the character experiences.<br /><br />As a reader, I tolerate a few anachronisms if the story has pulled me in. However, I remember tossing one well-known historical writer's book when she had the third anachronism in as many chapters. I felt she cheated her readrs through her laziness in research. <br /><br />Your book sounds intriguing and will definitely go on my TBR list.Caroline Clemmonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14914658854159456335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-48028071082642622182010-04-27T14:35:58.062-05:002010-04-27T14:35:58.062-05:00Allison - everything about Bath! I bet there'...Allison - everything about Bath! I bet there's an embarrassment of riches. When do you ever stop researching?! Virginia, yes, I do enjoy it. But I hope the readers enjoy it, too. Not the research itself, but the feeling of being there. Sheri, even if you don't end up putting specifics in the book, I think it helps to KNOW, just as I could see the coar of arms I didn't describe to the reader.Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-16306515819159885972010-04-27T14:32:46.631-05:002010-04-27T14:32:46.631-05:00Carol: Thanks for stopping by. Hope you can enjo...Carol: Thanks for stopping by. Hope you can enjoy Scottish lowlanders of the 1300's, too! Sarah and Lyndee - now I wouldn't know where to begin on ferrets or Samoan weather forecasting. But I think it's true that some of the research shows up in the book, but not in the obvious ways. It informs the rest of the story.Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-17886538119756326772010-04-27T11:05:00.181-05:002010-04-27T11:05:00.181-05:00Blythe, like you I love doing research, but it is ...Blythe, like you I love doing research, but it is mind boggling how much time you can spend on some tiny historical item. I spent several hours learning about writing implements in the 1800's and ended up with my character laying his "pen next to the crystal and brass inkwell". <br />Yes, thank God for the internet. We would've been living in libraries 50 years ago. I can't even imagine typing out a novel -- mistake free - on a typewriter. We're so accustomed to effortless rewrite/editing of documents and instant reference sources.Sheri Humphreysnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-75423121108916294392010-04-27T10:51:34.669-05:002010-04-27T10:51:34.669-05:00Oh this sounds like an awesome story and I would l...Oh this sounds like an awesome story and I would love to read it. Love the cover! I have not read your books before and would love too! Do you enjoy the research part of writing?<br /><br />lead[at]hotsheet[dot]comVirginiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06924888528166831610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-59874050752153596082010-04-27T09:57:46.675-05:002010-04-27T09:57:46.675-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Alyssa Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978259122676814979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-48960775721639611972010-04-27T09:57:36.826-05:002010-04-27T09:57:36.826-05:00Hi Blythe! His Border Bride sounds wonderful! I re...Hi Blythe! His Border Bride sounds wonderful! I researched sheep farming too for my very first book, Most Married, that I wrote as Lisa Manuel. My current release had me researching EVERYTHING about Bath, from the thermal waters to what lay beneath the city, to how the river weir worked. Also, I delved into 19th C financial scams. Lots of research, but I loved every minute of it!Alyssa Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978259122676814979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-65688938351568642052010-04-27T09:46:33.901-05:002010-04-27T09:46:33.901-05:00One of my characters is a native of Samoa who'...One of my characters is a native of Samoa who's learned how to predict weather patterns by using an ancient method of reading clouds gleaned from study with his great grandfather. This required researching Samoan culture as well as learning about tides. Of course, I used the internet, but also went as far as exchanging emails with the former commander of a US Naval ship! Overall, after what would amount to weeks of research, I synthesized my findings into about four key sentences! But they are powerful sentences that express a connection with the past, family, and nature.Lyndeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-19635758560074938682010-04-27T08:21:12.267-05:002010-04-27T08:21:12.267-05:00I'm surprisingly up-to-date on the only native...I'm surprisingly up-to-date on the only native species of endangered black-tipped ferrets in South Dakota and the prairie dogs they eat--which entails a lot of political wrangling with ranchers, environmentalists, etc.Sarah M. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-35990794925722924622010-04-27T05:07:22.165-05:002010-04-27T05:07:22.165-05:00Hi Blythe,
I really enjoyed your interview and pos...Hi Blythe,<br />I really enjoyed your interview and post.His Border Bride is definitely going on my TRL. I love History and since I'm only a readers I don't have to research for authenticity.<br />But I do love to research anything about WW2 and All of Scotland starting with the 1700's.I LOVE, Scottish Highlanders :)<br />Lucky4750@aol.comCarol L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05291123842810883524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-64678972351958909512010-04-26T16:59:10.921-05:002010-04-26T16:59:10.921-05:00Keena knows my dirty little secret. I do love the...Keena knows my dirty little secret. I do love the research. Jennie, you know exactly what I mean. It's sort of like a collector's treasure hunt, isn't it? Joan, so glad you liked the excerpt. That's, after all, the most important thing: that the story touches readers.Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-26238853430692460712010-04-26T16:44:00.376-05:002010-04-26T16:44:00.376-05:00What a fascinating post. With all that "learn...What a fascinating post. With all that "learning" you had to do, you might qualify for a PhD by now.<br /><br />I read the excerpt and loved it. It's going on my list.<br /><br />Joan K. mazeJ K Mazehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09363961966543630804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-53752533388321377292010-04-26T15:57:19.456-05:002010-04-26T15:57:19.456-05:00Hi Blythe, this book sounds intriguing! And isn...Hi Blythe, this book sounds intriguing! And isn't research fun? I've had to look up the items a Civil War ambulance corpsman would carry in his kit, and the machinery found in a Victorian woollen mill in Yorkshire. I love it all.Jennie Marslandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01899825119251198365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-23007742969711223522010-04-26T15:26:21.804-05:002010-04-26T15:26:21.804-05:00I'd say I feel your pain, Blythe, but I know y...I'd say I feel your pain, Blythe, but I know you love all that research. I do, too. And now I'm off to find the connotation of Lichieres pautonnier. If thems afightin' words, I want to make sure I use them properly.Keena Kincaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15985958126062809043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-9418117497123459892010-04-26T15:26:08.388-05:002010-04-26T15:26:08.388-05:00Can't tell you a thing about motorcycles, but ...Can't tell you a thing about motorcycles, but at least I can help with the Scottish setting!Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-15173649386871637122010-04-26T15:03:07.968-05:002010-04-26T15:03:07.968-05:00I was writing this scene in a book, and I sware I ...I was writing this scene in a book, and I sware I spent the longest time trying to find the type of motorcycle that ran the fastest! But in books, what really gets me interested is my favorite setting: Scotland!Chelsea B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-16046476387323808852010-04-26T13:42:22.451-05:002010-04-26T13:42:22.451-05:00Sherry: I'm so jealous! A trip to Hawaii has...Sherry: I'm so jealous! A trip to Hawaii has been on my want-to-do list for years. Perhaps setting a story there is what I need...Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-35429236287768756822010-04-26T13:10:23.901-05:002010-04-26T13:10:23.901-05:00Hi, Blythe,
My own favorite research for a series ...Hi, Blythe,<br />My own favorite research for a series I'm writing included a trip to Hawaii to learn all about the Big Island, the Volcanoes National Park, Hilo, the charter schools and growing orchids. We combined an anniversary trip there with my research. What fun!!! <br />I may need a return trip to refresh my memories :-) <br />SherryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-16791072913780424652010-04-26T11:44:08.851-05:002010-04-26T11:44:08.851-05:00Donna: Every once and awhile, I think that no one...Donna: Every once and awhile, I think that no one is ever going to know whether it's right or not, but then I realize that I will know and I return to the search. Glad you liked the post. Hope you enjoy the book!Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-73486835500848195592010-04-26T11:41:43.129-05:002010-04-26T11:41:43.129-05:00Debra: Thanks for your kind words! Wild Wedding W...Debra: Thanks for your kind words! Wild Wedding Weekend is in my TBR stack. Molly, I actually have a scene in the book of a character trying to navigate those spiral, castle stairs after one too many. No handrails in the 14the century! (And yes, it IS fun!) Karen: It IS hard to know what you DON'T know. If you work ih a time period long enough, you get a feel for it, but I almost used the word "ego" in an early book. Took awhile to register that it was NOT a medieval concept!Blythe Giffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935846960877972760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975156172068685702.post-13801449715713100382010-04-26T11:38:18.031-05:002010-04-26T11:38:18.031-05:00I'm amazed at the obscure details that must be...I'm amazed at the obscure details that must be discovered to make our books authentic. I spent months chasing down the location of the bridges across the Ashley River, Charleston, S.C. during the pre-Revolutionary War era. If you get that one detail wrong then you're spotted as someone who failed to do their homework and the story will be dismissed out of hand. We research such lovely details as how household sewage was disposed of...well, you get the gist. What am I saying?!? You KNOW the gist! Thanks for a great post, Blythe. I can't wait to read your book!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10887343545195798501noreply@blogger.com