#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Rosemary Shomaker

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I’d like to welcome author, Rosemary Shomaker, to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday.

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Things you need for your writing sessions: I need bright light, pencils or pens, and a window.

Things that hamper your writing: Interruptions by humans, either in person, on the phone, or even email.

Favorite music or song: I like Bluegrass

Music that drives you crazy: I’m not a big fan of “Urban” music, but I have an open mind.

Favorite smell: Fresh cut grass!

Something that makes you hold your nose: Rotten potatoes; they are disgusting,
slimy, and stinky!

Something you wish you could do: I’d love to win an Olympic Gold Medal. Maybe in another life!

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Vilify

The last thing you ordered online: Wool socks

The last thing you regret buying: Impractical shoes

Things you always put in your books: I always put dogs in my books.
Things you never put in your books: Nail polish

Things to say to an author: Tell an author, “I really identified with this character.”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “Your story is a bit thin.”

Favorite places you’ve been: Quebec City, the Cotswolds, Niagara Falls.
Places you never want to go to again: A drug house during a drug buy

Favorite things to do: Take walks, read, learn
Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Running a marathon. Well, running any kind of race.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Given birth to a child, and then giving birth to a second child.
Biggest mistake: Illicit, reckless romance

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I’ll never tell!
Something you chickened out from doing: Telling the truth in a situation when it was easier to lie

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Brenda Blethyn; she’s the actress who plays “Vera”

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Mike Farrell; he’s really aged. I guess I have, too.

About Rosemary:

Rosemary Shomaker writes about the unexpected in everyday life. She’s the woman you don’t notice in the grocery store or at church but whom you do notice at estate sales and wandering vacant lots. In all these places she’s collecting story ideas. Rosemary writes mystery, women’s fiction, and paranormal short stories.
Stay tuned as she takes her first steps toward longer fiction.

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All in the Name of Research...

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Surprisingly, fiction writers do a lot of research to ensure that the details in their writing are as accurate as possible. When you’re a mystery writer, some of this research can put you in sticky situations (e.g. You may not want to Google the best ways to a dispose of a body.)

I’m fortunate that my dad is a retired police captain, and I have other family and friends in law enforcement who are always willing to answer my procedural or odd questions. I can’t tell you how many times, I’ve had questions like, “What does a meth lab smell like” or “what size of a hole would this bullet make.” People are always willing to help and are very generous with their time.

I am also thrilled to be a part of Sisters in Crime. Our local chapter has great programming. We bring in experts to answer questions and explain procedures. I now have two awesome bail bondsmen in my contact list (or in case I need them). We’ve also had an arson investigator, medical examiner, FBI agent, ABC officer, Railroad Enforcement Officer, an expert in human trafficking, and a state conservation officer talk to our group.

I’ve also found that Twitter is a solid resource for finding experts and people who know things. I’ve put out questions before and received good information quickly. Social media sites are great for research, finding contacts, and networking. I’ve received several referrals that were quite helpful in my research.

My Private Investigator, Delanie Fitzgerald, is always getting herself in and out of humorous situations. In book three, she gets a gig to go undercover at a drag show to find out who is stealing from the talent. I’d never been to a drag so, so my writer friend, Rosemary Shomaker, arranged a research trip for brunch. (The bananas foster French toast was wonderful!) We had so much fun, and I ended up with a lot of details to add to my story, and a subject matter expert to answer my questions.

I always keep a list of folks who help me with ideas and answer questions for the book’s acknowledgments page.

Okay writers, what adventures have you had in the name of research?