By Linda Lovely
Okay, no need for the IRS to start an audit. The
meager author income reported on my tax return is unfortunately no lie.
Nonetheless, researching mysteries and romantic suspense novels has made my
life so much richer.
Here is a small sampling of my experiences
and encounters with fascinating folks I would never have met if it weren’t for
my research and professional affiliations.
Writers’
Police Academy
The Writers’ Police Academy (WPA) takes top
honors on my list of opportunities to gain experiences and meet people I would
never, ever have encountered if I had not attended the WPA. In August, I’ll
make my fourth visit to the Academy, where I’m a volunteer staffer, giving back
to an organization that is dedicated to helping writers of crime fiction get it
right (and have a lot of fun in the process).
At the WPA, I have:
·
Searched
a building with a SWAT team, carrying my own (unloaded) automatic rifle
·
Experienced
the decision-making dilemmas police officers face in deciding when to fire in
simulated real-life situations with hostages and armed threats. (I killed no
civilians.)
·
Visited
a burn site looking for signs of arson
·
Searched
a wooded area for signs of a shallow grave
·
Learned
self-defense tactics that work for women if they’re grabbed
·
Searched
jail cells for contraband
·
Interviewed
suspects and
·
Studied
nasty bioweapon alternatives
·
Seen
how dogs and robots would work to foil terrorists
·
Watched
police divers retrieve underwater evidence
·
PLUS
sat in classes presented to every type of law enforcement expert imaginable,
from Secret Service, FBI and DEA agents to forensic psychologists, fraud and
gang experts
·
What’s
best? Many of the experts I met at the Academy and in my own backyard have been
more than willing to help answer specific questions related to my manuscripts.
·
Retired
Detective Lee Lofland, WPA founder, and Dr. Denene Lofland, who seems to know
all there is to know about bio crimes, have become dear friends.
Sisters
in Crime
Closer to home, I meet fascinating folks
every month at the Upstate SC Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Here are a few of
our law enforcement-related guests:
·
An
entertaining woman who heads her family’s bail bond company.
·
A
psychic, considered empathic, clairaudient, claircognizant and sometimes
clairvoyant.
·
A
policeman who has spent nine years as a school resource officer.
·
Judges,
public defenders, defense attorneys, DA.s and prosecutors.
·
Forensic
crime scene and firearms specialists
·
A
specialist in tracking computer and financial fraud.
·
The
head of a group fighting domestic abuse and minor sex trafficking
·
A
parole officer,
Road
Trips & Phone Interviews
Writing mysteries and
romantic suspense also provides an excuse for road trips and conversations with
some of the most interesting people outside of law enforcement. My most recent
excursions have been to visit a goat cheese farm and a (legal) moonshine
operation. I’ve also interviewed folks in my home town who are old enough to
remember what it was like in 1938, when my novel LIES is set.
See what I mean about
rich? I’m one Baby Boomer who believes there’s more to life than living an
insulated life interacting only with people in your own age, ethnic, and income
group.
Writers—what’s the most interesting research you’ve undertaken for a novel?
Writers—what’s the most interesting research you’ve undertaken for a novel?
