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. 

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Well, given the locale of my third Clubmobile Girls novel, my heroine might more readily exclaim: “Cobras and Tigers and Elephants, oh my!”

Yes, we are headed to exotic and mystical India in my next WWII romance novel. Many readers won’t remember that Americans fought and died in India during WWII (or why), so I’m composing a prefatory note to set the stage. Trying to distill the high points into a succinct summary has impressed on me just how complex a situation my hero and heroine will face. Nationalist protests, riots and strikes roil the country during these waning days of the British Raj, famine results in suffering and starvation on a mass scale in large swathes of the country, intrigue abounds as the Indians, British, American, and Chinese jockey to advance their favored military and post-war strategic interests, guerrilla forces battle the enemy and the environment in the steamy jungles of Burma and northeast India, and Hump pilots making daily trips over the Himalayas in the worst airspace on earth face untold hazards to keep China supplied with vital food and military supplies.

My heroine is delighted and enthralled from the moment she catches sight of Bombay from the harbor. India is as far away from her small hometown in Missouri and her troubled past as it is possible to imagine. And while she initially focuses on the potential for adventure and a fresh start, she must all too quickly confront a myriad of challenges to her worldview of India and to her goals and plans.

By contrast, my hero wants nothing more than to escape India at the earliest possible opportunity. A son of American missionaries to Burma who attended boarding school in northwest India, he is anxious to return to America and his future in the ivy-covered halls of academia. He had, after all, already done his part for the war, flying combat missions with the Flying Tigers in the earliest months of the war. But escaping the lure of this labyrinthine land he had called home most of his life, not to mention a call of duty he is uniquely qualified to offer, proves difficult. The bright and brave young woman he cannot evict from his heart complicates things all the more.

            I would love to say that this more sequestered and slower paced life I’ve been leading has translated into huge daily word counts. Alas, that has not been the case. But I am nearing the end of my research process, have a good solid start in the early chapters, and have committed to start meeting that 1000-1500 word count daily goal again this week. I know I’m not the only author who has had difficulty with overall focus and productive habits in these challenging times. And the research required to corral the myriad competing potential plot points for this vast and complex setting has been an enormous undertaking. So that’s a long way of saying I am trying to give myself permission and space to let this story bloom gradually, rather than second-guessing whether I ought to have more to show for such an extended period of being largely housebound!  

I hope all of you continue to take care of yourself and your loved ones and stay in good spirits as we continue to adjust to a new normal.

You can learn more about me and my novels on my website, and you can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. 

You can purchase my first two Clubmobile Girls novels on Amazon.