Welcome to a tour of my blogs written for the A-Z challenge.
Today is April 12th and the Kooky letter K
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Google Image
Kathryn is the heroine in Nineteen Hundred (see G is for Gideon)
Her hair wheat coloured, eyes blueberry blue with hint of violet.
While Kathryn drank the last of her breakfast tea on Sunday morning, she debated how to spend the rest of the day. Last week at this time she had been anticipating the celebratory dinner. What a difference seven days made. Her brow wrinkled as she realized that she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Mr. Thomas during this time either, except for occasionally passing him at the door when she came home or went out. She heaved a huge sigh. I never had to wonder what to do with myself at home.
She allowed herself to wallow in her homesickness. Sundays after church, the family gathered, either at her parents’ house or an aunt’s or at a cousin’s, to enjoy Sunday dinner. Everyone pitched in and brought a vegetable or a dessert. They would catch up with the latest gossip and relax. She smiled simply thinking about home. All helped clean up, even the youngest nieces and nephews. By the time they got home, and did whatever chores still needed doing, it would almost be time for bed and to start the whole week over. Sundays were always a good way to begin the week. I haven’t even found a local church to attend yet. I’ll have to make inquiries. It would ease the loneliness, I’m sure.
Intending to return to her room, she rose and moved toward the staircase. As she was about to climb the first step, she heard a sound, and looked up to find Mr. Thomas on the landing preparing to come downstairs.
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What’s the strangest topic you’ve researched for a story?
In this one I originally had her order cantaloupe as an appetizer in a restaurant. Since the scene took place in January a friend advised that in those days fresh fruits would not have been available. I’m not saying this is a strange topic but only one piece of information that had to be correct for the time period.
Knowingly looking forward to your K posts
sassyspeaks 
K’s really difficult!! This is a great one – and, yes, it’s probably true that there weren’t cantaloupes in January in those days. Enjoyed the story.
Great! As for the strangest topic I’ve researched: I needed to know what a scar would look like if a 28 year old woman had been branded as a child. When I started googling, I found that many people brand themselves. How horrible! I read their posts, unable to believe what I was reading and praying they didn’t show any pictures! BTW, I sold that novella. It’ll be out later this year as an ebook. Research pays off! 🙂
I’m currently researching sightings of the Mothman for an upcoming novel. Nothing really drastically crazy about that (er, except that we’re talking about the mothman, LOL), but I plan on visiting the town were the sightings occurred (about a 7 hour drive) and I’ve never done anything like that before.
I like your “K” choice! 🙂
Nice snippet.
I’ve researched a lot of weird things. Radioactive minerals, festering properties of arsenical as opposed to tinned bronze, the poisonous honey of the Scythians. Lovely stuff.It’s amazing the things that will catch you out. I had a lovely bit of business planned using police phone boxes in 1928 but it turns out that then there was only one of them – in Richmond, miles away from where I needed them to be.
Lovely excerpt. Historical fiction is a challenge because you not only have to worry about getting the physical details right, you have to worry about the chronological details. I’ve researched many weird things. Blood cults, ritual murder, and esoteric societies for my first novel. Vichy, France and the Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants for my second. Wicca for my third. Research is my favorite part of the process. 🙂
Beautiful writing style in this excerpt. Historical fiction requires much of the writer besides his/her writing style, and it is the research, especially for a period piece. I have yet to tackle research as I’m working on a memoir right now. However, I’m hoping to write a historical novel centered around my father’s childhood in an orphanage and the women of the early 1900s who often who had no choice but to place their children in the care of others. That will require some intense research!!
you can sense Kathryn and Gideon have a future together by the way he lingers in her thoughts of her comfort zone Sue…
you write with an openness that allows your readers to speculate the out come as they read on…
but never being quite sure whether their right or not as you add twists and turns in some very unexpected ways…
as for research, I do it all the time with factual stories.. to get the flavour and the mood of the situation at the time.. which is research others have done…
but all my fictional stories have little research at all really… although I like to describe the season its set in,
I never have chose a curtain era… funny I have not thought of my work.. (which is as you know are just short snippets in blogs)… in terms of research as in an historical setting…
Maybe I haven’t grown up enough to delve into such a story line…
Now you got me thinking woman!!…. you do this to me all the time Sue… making me think!!!…lol
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Oh that photo is lovely! 😀