{"id":3191,"date":"2022-02-18T16:27:55","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T14:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/?p=3191"},"modified":"2022-03-19T17:17:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-19T15:17:43","slug":"i-love-the-research-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/?p=3191","title":{"rendered":"I Love the Research: Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The first book has had some great reviews. Thank you!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


Every book, no matter when or where it\u2019s set, needs research. I\u2019ve always loved doing it, I\u2019ve always loved to learn so it\u2019s no hardship. But it\u2019s very easy to get distracted \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic made research a little harder so thank goodness for online resources. There is a wealth of information out there if you tread carefully and sift.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t have to do much research for my setting. Berecombe is based on Lyme Regis. If you know the town, you\u2019ll instantly recognise the promenade and the view Ashley describes at the beginning of the book, when she\u2019s sitting on the bench painting. I\u2019ve visited Lyme since aged five and lived there briefly, so I know it pretty well. The challenge, for me, is to describe it in a fresh way for new readers. The Great Summer Street Party<\/em> is the latest in a string of novels based around Berecombe and Millie Vanilla\u2019s Cafe but not everyone reads the books in order, so I need to set the scene in each book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sneak preview of the new covers.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


I wanted to find a new way to describe how the sea sounds, or how the sea air smells and it\u2019s surprisingly difficult. One of the early revision notes from my editor was to create more of a sense of place. I was surprised as I thought I had! In my head I knew Lyme (I mean Berecombe!) so well, I could picture it. The problem was, I hadn\u2019t put that on paper for the reader. Time for a quick refresher visit, time to sit and make notes. Time to use all five senses to capture it. It\u2019s the tiny details you sometimes miss by not experiencing a place at first hand – the feel of slippery sand on concrete under your feet, the extraordinary range of sounds the gulls make and how the light catches on their white underbellies, the vivid and surprising colours in a sunset. Remember to see, hear, touch, taste and smell – but don\u2019t write all five senses into every description. That might get tedious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lovely Lyme Regis!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


Berecombe is in east Devon, by the way, although Lyme is just about in Dorset. Devon and Dorset are two very distinct counties. However, I always feel the area around east Devon and west Dorset has a personality of its own which doesn\u2019t reflect the rolling green hills of Devon and the wide-open uplands or endless sandy beaches of Dorset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other settings in the book are Ludlow and London. It\u2019s unusual for me to write in settings other than Berecombe for my caf\u00e9 books but it was necessary for this one. One of the advantages of moving house often is I\u2019ve lived in lots of different places. For a while Ludlow was a twenty-minute drive away, something I took completely for granted. It really is the most beautiful and historic town. I knew the Lydden family were middle class and could easily picture them in their comfortable house on the outskirts of Ludlow. I needed a reason to keep Ashley\u2019s parents away, as she needed to develop in independence and confidence. The drive from Shropshire to Devon is long enough not to undertake on impulse so I settled on Ludlow. It also gave history buff Eddie a reason to become interested in Ashley beyond her obvious physical charms.

You can check out Ludlow here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.ludlow.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ludlow: full of history in every corner.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


For Serena and Ruby\u2019s London house I chose Blackheath. I lived nearby for many years and it\u2019s a fascinating place. Very village-like and classy, with those elegant many-storied houses you find in the city. It was the perfect spot for Serena to have somewhere large enough to house Ruby in a garden flat, and the ideal location for her up-market art gallery. At one point, my heroine undertakes a gruelling motorway journey. I have a terrible memory and had to research the route from the midlands and the west to south-east London. I used to drive both routes frequently and knew all the rat runs and short cuts, something Ashley wouldn\u2019t. Thank goodness for AA Routeplanner!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Okay, this is Chelsea – but isn\u2019t it gorgeous!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


For Ashley\u2019s injury, I called upon a friend who is a doctor, and did lots of online research into the difficulties of carrying children having had major trauma to the pelvic girdle. I also used my experience of being hit by a car and breaking my femur. It was a long recovery and I had to learn to walk again. Although this happened many years ago, I remember the consultant saying, with relief, that at least I hadn\u2019t broken my pelvis. It\u2019s a severe injury, with serious implications especially for women. As for her raw, visceral need for children, let\u2019s just say I extrapolated from my own experience for that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cute!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


I\u2019m a visual person and use Pinterest a lot for research, especially for how my characters look. This is ideal for the younger \u2018cast\u2019 but harder for older characters \u2013 and I love writing my older characters. There seem fewer images of older people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always imagine Biddy as Nurse Phyllis from Call the Midwife. No-nonsense, brusque, with nerves of steel and a heart of gold. Biddy often says and does things I wouldn\u2019t dare! I\u2019ve deliberately never described Biddy\u2019s features, although we get a glimpse through Ashley\u2019s eyes of thick black brows and wiry grey hair under a purple beret. I\u2019m also deliberately vague about Biddy\u2019s age. Part of the fun in writing Biddy is the wild claims she often makes. Just when you think she\u2019s spouting fantasy, something happens to make you realise she\u2019s telling the truth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think I had in mind the glorious and recently departed Betty White as Ruby, although a UK version. I wanted someone who looked sweet and innocent but who surprised you once she opened her mouth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s far easier to cast the younger characters. I must fall in love with my hero, and it was easy to imagine Eddie as David Duchovny in his X-Files days. I had a huge crush on Fox Mulder, good-looking, ferociously intelligent and I\u2019m partial to a man in specs! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Noah and Ashley, I needed two attractive people with dark hair. The lovely Tom Riley (an actor we see too little of) and Lily Collins fitted the bill. Check out the board of images for Sunshine and Cider Cake and my other books here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/pin.it\/7gEre2C<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to make a pin board of all my characters, to remind myself of hair, eye colour, facial features (I told you I have a terrible memory). Now I use a notebook, which isn\u2019t as immediately accessible, but I can add a library of other details such a date of birth, siblings, etc. It\u2019s helpful to have a reminder as I often work on other projects at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A previous writing cave, a few houses ago!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


I\u2019m a Rightmove addict, possibly a legacy of having moved house so often. It\u2019s a great research tool. I can check types of houses, the area and prices. Streetview is also useful and was especially handy during Lockdown when I couldn\u2019t get out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funnily enough, having a lazy scroll through local houses for sale on Rightmove pointed me to a beautiful cottage near the harbour in Lyme Regis. Way out of my price range but it\u2019s sparked my next book. It\u2019s amazing where inspiration comes from! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia x<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every book, no matter when or where it\u2019s set, needs research. I\u2019ve always loved doing it, I\u2019ve always loved to learn so it\u2019s no hardship. But it\u2019s very easy to get distracted \u2026 The pandemic made research a little harder so thank goodness for online resources. There is a wealth of information out there if you tread carefully and sift. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[93,64,844,845],"class_list":["post-3191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-georgia-hill","tag-lyme-regis","tag-research","tag-writing-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3191"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3250,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191\/revisions\/3250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}