Research: It’s an important part of the creative process. So, my time in Las Vegas was not all fun and games. The next book in the Midnight series, Midnight Goblins Dance, begins and ends in Vegas. The next book, untitled, goes back to Galveston but in Galveston’s past. For that research, I took another trip to the city, and like in Vegas, I also had a little fun.
I admit, I wanted a weekend to relax. Hubby was ready for a little R&R, too. If you’ve been to Las Vegas, you know how fast and loud the city is. Had a ton of fun, but little meditation and reflection took place there.
This past weekend was Galveston’s annual Dickens on the Strand celebration. Dickens might have been wordy, but how many of us wouldn’t cut out all the contractions if we were being paid by the word. Thanks to his long-winded descriptions and vast cast of colorful characters, the Dickens on the Strand event allows everyone to be just about anyone.
Walk down the Strand during this festival, and you’ll see plenty of characters. Most are not from any Dickens work. The Steampunks would blow poor Dickens out of his mind, but they had some of the best costumes. Most of the characters walking up and down the strand were a lot like me: Dressed in theatrical representations of Victorian costumes (not real Victorian outfits) to stroll and imagine we’re walking down a London street while Mr. Dickens is penning his stories. I so want to be around in a couple of hundred years when someone sees the pictures of me and wonders how I traveled through time.
Now that would be a fun story.
Find my books at these online booksellers:
Real life research is always pretty interesting. Most times I just limit my research to what I can find on the internet, but stories take on a much richer turn when we draw from our real-life experiences. And wouldn’t it be interesting to see what the world would be like in 200 years?
At the rate we’re going, not sure we’ll be around in 200 years. But we can hope.
That photo is gorgeous!