Where Did You Learn That?

Good morning, friends! I've bee pretty busy lately. In addition to my full-time job and getting the house ready for Christmas, I feel like I've been living Nanowrimo (or National Novel Writing Month) every month since August. I have literally written four books since then. Not something I plan to repeat often. However, I don't regret the extra pressure. Writing fulfills one of the great joys of my life. Since I was little, I have loved learning about new and different things and places. I'm the person who bought a Gaelic dictionary just so I could learn a few phrases for fun. That's one facet of writing I adore. With every new book I write, I have the opportunity to learn something interesting. For example, in my April 2023 book, Crime Scene Witness, I got to learn about what is involved in the work of a crime scene cleaner. Some of the research was a bit gruesome, but on the whole, it was fascinating.

Before that, I was able to research the US Marshals for a book.

Sometimes, I get really involved in a story and I don't want to loose momentum and stop writing to research. I leave myself a note, either on a pad of paper or in a word document, to go back and look up what I need. This is crucial. I don't want my lack of knowledge to pull someone out of the story. For example, I am currently writing a story involving bounty hunters. I had set the story in Illinois, near where I grew up. Then after I had written enough to know my characters, I went back and started diving deep into the world of bounty hunters. Cringe. I found out that bounty hunting is illegal in four states, including Illinois. Oops. Sometimes I need to research places. I love taking research trips! There's nothing like visiting places and listening to the people who live there. Sometimes, though, a trip isn't possible. I can still talk with people from the area. Most of my research comes from the internet. So now I'm curious. What's something fascinating that you've learned in your life? Or what is one thing you want to learn about or how to do?

Dana R. Lynn is an award winning, USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-selling author of more than twenty romantic suspense and Amish romance books who believes in the power of God to touch people through stories. Although she grew up in Illinois, she met her husband at a wedding in Pennsylvania and told her parents she had met her future husband. Nineteen months later, they were married. Today, they live in rural Pennsylvania and are entering the world of empty nesters. She is a teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing by day and writes stories of romance and danger at night. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray with the Steve Laube Agency. Dana is an avid reader, loves cats and thinks chocolate should be a food group. Readers can contact her or sign up to receive her monthly newsletter at www.danarlynn.com.