writing romance

a guest post from artist and award-winning author Wendy Dewar Hughes

I love to travel and have been a few places in my life, including living at an eighteenth-century estate in the South of France, spending a winter in a Swiss chalet in a tiny village on the side of an alp, touring Britain in a mini motorhome, and snorkelling in the Caribbean.

So it’s not surprising that I want to have my characters see a little of the world.

A problem arises, though, when the places I want them to go, because I’m interested in going there myself, are places I have never actually been.

In my novel Picking up the Pieces, my heroine travels to numerous locations including Canada, Paris, Mexico, and Israel.

While I’ve been to several of the places I wrote about and therefore could write with some authority on, there were a few that worked for the story but that I had never visited.

When I wrote the sequel, The Glass Dolphin, I wanted to set much of the story in Peru because I have always been fascinated by the archaeological interest there.

However, I have never been there myself – yet.

So how do you research and write about a place you’ve never been and have it be authentic?

Here are a few devices I used to find information:

1. Books from the library.

It’s easy to search the library catalogues or talk to your librarian who can help you find information or eyewitness accounts of the settings you want to write about.

2. Google.

This is often the first place we go to now but if you don’t have the right search terms it might be difficult to find what you want.

There can also be gold mines of information if you can think up the right search terms.

For example, I learned about poisonous jungle snakes, and what rivers are navigable in the rainforests in Peru.

3. Google Earth and Street View.

These amazing features allow you to go places in minutes and describe exactly what you see as though you’re right there.

While not every place in the world is included, you can get close.

4. Travel guidebooks and maps.

These are often available through your library and if not, you can purchase books to the area you want to research from a travel store.

These materials give you information like distances, modes of transport, plus costs for hotels, meals, and entry fees.

5. Blogs.

Many people love to blog their travel experiences allowing you an on the ground look through their eyes.

6. Traveling friends and travel agents.

Most people love to talk about their travels but lots of people’s friends don’t want to hear about them.

If you show interest and ask questions, you’re sure to get lots of information.

When you place your settings in foreign locales, be sure to check on local customs.

You don’t want Mr. Muscle kissing Miss Lovely under a tree in the moonlight if that’s grounds for being shot.

You also want to know what kind of tree they’re under because if you get in wrong, some reader is bound to know.

About Wendy Dewar Hughes
Wendy Dewar Hughes is a water color artist and she writes award-winning inspirational suspense novels set in contemporary times. Her fiction inspires and entertains readers with compelling plots, fascinating characters and a sprinkling of satisfying romance; page-turning fiction that is fast-paced and exciting with sparks of humour where least expected.