RomanceEverAfter

The Writing Craft

Erin Aislinn
www.erinaislinn.com

Visit Erin at her website at www.erinaislinn.com.  You can also read an excerpt from her novel, It Happened in Florence. Her novel is now available from Echelon Embrace at www.echelonpress.com/catalog/embrace/eaihif.htm

You selected Florence as your story location for "It Happened In Florence." Did you have to conduct any research for the book? If so, what were your resources? What recommendation would you give to writers regarding research?

Florence was actually the inspiration for the novel to begin with. I visited the city some years ago, and the impressions remain as lively as if I had been there yesterday. In writing the novel, I used Florence as a catalyst for my heroine's transformation. The city elicits such a range of moods that it was easy to match different locations to the stages of the heroine's journey.

Of course, when one so loves a place, there is a challenge of choosing what to use and what to leave out. If you use everything, the novel reads like a travel journal. I began by putting down my recollections of Florence, street by street, church by church, bridge by bridge. There were statues that touched me, park benches carefully placed in romantic spots that coaxed professions of love. There was a pizza parlor with some thirty square slices on display. Having gone through my memories in detail, I was able to find just the right aspect of the city when I needed it in the story.

However, I also referred to parts of Florence that I had never experienced directly. This is where research came in. I found a lot of artistic details in art books and in local museums that feature some Florentine paintings. I searched for photographs of different parts of town. Memory failed me when it came to the street names, so I verified them on maps. Most important, though, was a book by RWB Lewis, who combined some amazing historical facts with his experience of living in Florence for many years. I was thrilled to find my own feelings about Florence echoed in another author's perspective.

How to approach research will vary depending on how the location is used in the story. For a mere backdrop, a few travel videos from a library might do the trick. For a historical novel, documentaries may educate about the political and social environment of a certain period. Many towns have local history museums with old photographs of the area and people.

Knowing a location lends an authentic tone to the writing, but I must stress that a fiction writer's first responsibility is to serve the story. Whether some detail about a place is real or made up is far less important than whether that detail serves the story in the way the author intended.

Discuss the benefits of writing for an electronic publisher. What criteria did you follow when selecting your e-publisher?

Even though electronic publishing had been around for only a few years when I started looking for a publisher, there were dozens and dozens of outfits that published e-books. I first considered how professional the publisher's site looked and how easy it was to navigate. Then I looked at the titles and read some sample chapters to see if my book would fit in. Echelon Press was pretty much at the top of my list when I finally bought an e-book to test the ordering process, and this is the greatest benefit of e-publishing; it makes distribution almost instantaneous, and I mean on a global scale. Every English speaking reader can enjoy my novel with a few clicks of a mouse. I find that very exciting.

Also, there is significantly less environmental impact with electronic publishing, which is very important to me. No paper is used for printing, and no petroleum is used on delivery. I can save a lot gas in not driving to the bookstore every time I want to buy a book.

For avid readers, electronic publishing also solves the problem of shelf space. I know I have to limit the number of books I buy because I just don't have any more room for them. That is not a problem with e-books. However, many readers have not yet embraced electronic publishing, and I understand their reservation about reading on the screen. I felt the same way before I read my first e-book. I was amazed to find that as soon as the story gripped me, I quickly forgot that I was clicking a button instead of flipping the pages. Still, to make sure all readers can enjoy our books, Echelon Press will also release It Happened in Florence in paperback.