Google your Way to Genuineness by Eleri Grace

Setting plays an important role in my novels, but I mostly make do with experiencing the setting from afar. Much as I would love to travel and do first-hand research, some of my settings are simply too far-flung or currently dangerous for that to be a viable option! For those novels, Google has become my best friend, and I'm grateful to have so many resources at my fingertips. It's hard for me to imagine how I might have created the level of detail that I do in my novels without the internet and all its fabulous resources. 

Restored control tower and base of 100th Bomber Group, Thorpe Abbotts, England (2016)

For my first novel, set primarily on a US bomber base in southeastern England, it was easy to draw on my experiences from having lived in that very area while studying abroad in 1989 and from a more recent research trip led by the National WWII Museum. That tour allowed me the opportunity to not only visit two of the restored air bases but also to chat with some of the locals who were children during the war and have vivid memories of those years with all the American airmen who served there. While we did not visit the base that I had already chosen as the focal setting for Courage to be Counted, it was still incredibly helpful to see these bases and imagine how similar they were to what my characters experienced at Chelveston. 

Historical re-enactors: 95th Bomber Group, Horham, England (2016)

St Andrews Church, Quidenham, England, stained glass window in honor of USAAF 96th Bomber Group

Red Cross Girls doing laundry in a river in New Guinea, circa 1943

My second novel Carry a Crusading Spirit followed my heroine from Australia (that would have been a great trip if I could have managed it!) to New Guinea and then to Tinian Island in the Northern Marianas. Time and finances didn't allow me to visit these places in person (and New Guinea is not particulary safe either), but I made great use of online sources. Google Earth is an extraordinary resource for authors looking to get a better feel for the topography, and I used it often for my hero's New Guinea flight scenes. In addition to photos, maps, and Google Earth, I have had great luck with videos -- not only current ones that show a general idea of the lay of the land, but many historical videos are available online. 

My latest novel in progress is set in India and Burma (now Myanmar). Obviously Myanmar is not a safe destination at the moment. I found quite a few travel blogs -- most of which relate to trips taken prior to the last couple of years -- with great photos and details. One travel blogger drove the old Ledo Road, and he included some incredible photos that show how arduous the construction must have been. Speaking of video research, just this past weekend, I found myself wondering if it was possible to kill a tiger with a bow and arrow, and lo and behold if I don't find a video (circa 1963 no less) that literally shows a skilled archer bringing down a tiger in India. 

Red Cross Girl in India, circa 1944

So even though I don't have personal photos in my collection from these Asian locales, I've been intrepid enough to locate some pretty amazing sources that have added depth and variety in bringing the settings of my novels to life. 

You can buy my books on Amazon, learn more about me and my writing on my website, and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.