Guest Post - Cate Dean - Research: My Personal Obsession

Research – My Personal Obsession

by Cate Dean

Ah, research. I love to research. As a history buff, it is a personal passion of mine. I can get lost for hours – literally losing myself in another time and place.

I am an on the ground type of writer – I have to be there, experience what my characters would experience, see, hear and feel it, as much as possible. The beach town, Santa Luna, in A Gathering of Angels is fictional, but it is based on the beach town I grew up haunting, Laguna Beach. I know it better than my own childhood neighborhood, and still visit whenever I am in Southern California. Using a real place – one I know well – gives me a visual reference, but at the same time allows me to rearrange things when necessary.

My need to experience has taken me across England, to the wild and beautiful West coast of Ireland, and into the hills of California’s gold country, where most of A Gathering of Angels takes place. I’ve explored desolate castle ruins on a rugged coast cliff, walked in the steps of the Roman legions, got seriously spooked in an old West graveyard.

Part of the thrill of writing for me is the research – not only the travel, but the thrill of discovery, scouring the shelves of secondhand and new bookstores, losing myself in the information glut of the internet. Finding a tidbit, a fact, an idea that changes the shape of my story is almost more exciting than writing the story. Almost. ☺

Even with my wild imagination driving my plot or characters, I like to start from a place of truth, use that as my base. Because the best lies always have a grain of truth.

Research helps me create a deeper, richer story, and gives me the perfect excuse to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes. For some writers it may be optional – for me, it is a necessity, and an essential tool in my kit.

Thanks for hanging out with me – and here’s to your next great adventure, whether it’s out in the world, or in the pages of a great book.

Until next time – read on.

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Genre - Paranormal Suspense

Rating - 18+

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Website http://catedeanwrites.com/

About the author 

Cate Dean has been writing since she could hold a pen in her hand and put more than two words together on paper. She grew up losing herself in the wilds of fantasy worlds, and has had some of her own adventures while tromping through the UK, and a few other parts of the world. A lover of all things supernatural, she infuses that love into her stories, giving them a unique edge. When she's not writing, she loves cooking, scaring herself silly in the local cemeteries, and reading pretty much anything she can get her hands on.