Research Part 2, Subsection B: Guest Authors Mel Bradshaw and Eileen Schuh

 From Mel Bradshaw, Canadian Author: On research

Check out Mel's historical crime books right here:

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http://booksofmelbradshaw.ca/

Looking for stuff on the Internet is so fast and easy and while, yes, there can be unreliable, irresponsible claims out there, sometimes you're sure you're getting the real goods. Example, I was able to download (for free) a facsimile of A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE USE OF CORONERS HOLDING INQUESTS IN ONTARIO, published in 1911.

But, having the good fortune to live in the location where my 1920s novels are set, I can also go out and supplement Google Images with my own photographs of old buildings. Example, the chapel of Toronto's old Central Prison still stands in the middle of Liberty Village. My snapshots are helping me put this relic into my new book.

And of course good libraries still have a place. The current criminal code is available in a flash on the Internet. But how about the criminal code for 1927, when sentences still included so many lashes as well as prison time? Found what I was looking for in the stacks of Robarts Library at the University of Toronto.

From Eileen Schuh, Canadian Author: On Research

Check out Eileen's adult and YA novels here:
http://www.eileenschuh.com/

I wrote my BackTracker novels before researching anything, believing I was channeling my characters' true experiences in the biker gang world of drugs and violence and the dangerous counter-world of law enforcement. When it came time to publish the stories, beta readers and editors alike rather adamantly suggested I first ought to confirm the truth of what my likeable but not-all-that-credible characters were telling me. So...I became a volunteer for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. How's that for dedication to my writing career (ha ha)?

The most enjoyable aspect of my volunteer work is the training provided. I've attended sessions on the illicit drug trade, gangs, juveniles, forensics, counterfeiting, firearms, accident investigation, preserving a crime scene, drones, the canine unit...and the list goes on.

Aside from hard-core learning, my volunteering has also 
helped me put faces and emotions to those in uniform, taught me the lingo and police protocol, and got my heart racing at times!

P.S. Even though it turns out my BackTracker characters dictated a pretty accurate description of their exciting lifestyles, I'd not give up my volunteering experiences for anything!

From Me:

Imajin Books is holding its summer sizzle sales & contests right now! Dive in - win - read great books for great prices (including all my books).  

www.imajinbooks.com

Look for the next research blog soon - plus more guest authors.