Research

As readers of this blog will know, I write women's fiction. I'm interested in every day people and the sort of trials and tribulations they can face, as well as the happiness and fun they enjoy. I read a lot of women's fiction but I'm also drawn to thrillers and have a legal background so I tend to write a twist or two into my stories.

In some ways that means I don't have to do a lot of research as I can create characters in todays world and draw on my own knowledge and experiences. That doesn't mean I never have to do research and, whilst it may not have to be as in-depth as say those who write historical fiction or crime, there are always elements that I want to understand better.

In The Glass House it included researching criminal laws and penalties, discussing the making of television programmes with a friend from that industry. It meant researching certain plants, their growth, cultivation and harvesting and, in some cases, their toxicity. I also spent time trying to find some recipes that were a little bit out of the ordinary for the challenges the celebrity chef would face. That information I could glean from books and the internet.

The first manuscript I completed was Twisted Truth. For it I had to go back to the law books and spend time considering international commercial law and, as there is a Malaysian aspect to the story, I checked certain facts with the Law Society. I'm not satisfied with that manuscript and it's facing a complete rewrite.

One element of my latest work is adoption and I'm thinking about what would happen if an adopted child sought out their birth parents. I'm considering the impact of social media upon our adoption laws and rights of access between birth parents and children. There's plenty of information out there on the issue but to clarify some of it I looked for an authority on the subject and needed particular advice about adoption laws in Northern Ireland. That's when I found BAAF  - the British Association for Adoption and Fostering. They cover England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and promote high standards of practice, aiming to be a voice for children separated from their birth parents. I contacted the Northern Ireland branch and want to use this post to mention and thank them. They gave no hesitation in helping me research the topic and point me towards further information. This link will lead you to the BAAF page for Northern Ireland but you can access the pages for England, Scotland and Wales from it. The NI branch also deal with enquiries from the Republic of Ireland.