It Pays to Do Your Research!

Marissa originally started this blog (and invited me to join her) to share the cool things we discovered while doing research for our books. As of last week, the reverse also provide true: the research I did for this blog ended up selling a book!

You may remember my “ball at the beach” series last summer. I originally intended writing a post on Brighton, but then I realized I should probably include Lyme Regis. I didn’t know all that much about the latter, so I did some – you guessed it – research! And that led me to Scarborough. You can find the original post on the fair town here.

Suffice it to say, I fell in love with Scarborough! The red-tiled houses hugging the shore, the sweep of golden sand, the church with its choir of orphans, the elegant assembly rooms, the warmth of the people, the sharp tang of the spa waters—I could go on and on! (And I think I just did.)

So, when I was offered the opportunity to try to become one of the first Steeple Hill authors of Regency-set romances, I decided to take a chance and set the story not in London or Bath or Brighton as is usually done, but in my beloved Scarborough.

I am very pleased to announce--drum roll please!—that I have agreed to a 2-book deal with Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Historical line. The first book, set in Scarborough in 1811, will be out in June 2011 (appropriate, eh?). We’re working on a title for it as well as a concept for the second book. My editor is delighted, and I am over the moon!

All because of a love of research and a desire to share it with others. May your efforts prove similarly rewarding!