Happy Spring, Readers! Mary Ellis here. Ever wonder what could go wrong while researching/writing a book? Covid, that's what!
Readers familiar with my writing know I do a lot of research before, during and after the book is finished. My first visit to an area is to envision the basic storyline and flesh out the characters. I accomplish this by asking questions of everyone I meet connected to a certain vocation, B&B or sect of people. My second and third visits are during the writing to pull together subplots or flesh out secondary characters. My final visit is to answer the multitude of questions that come up during the writing. For One for the Road, book one of the Bourbon Tour Mysteries, I chose Kentucky, the bluegrass state, for my setting. Although I'm not a bourbon drinker, I heard from several friends that bourbon tours have grown very popular. Hordes of tourists arrive weekly to tour the distilleries. Some tours offer overnight stays with paring dinners. There’s even a train you can take with bourbon tasting along the way. Sounded like a fun getaway weekend with friends. And a distillery sounds like a great place for murder…speaking as a mystery writer, of course.
I planned two trips to Kentucky to research the small (craft) distilleries and interview the master distillers. Then I made plans for an extended visit to the Louisville area to tour eight major production plants. My friends and I planned to take tours, ride the train, go to paring dinners and of course, at least taste the bourbon. Reservations had been made and tickets purchased, then the Covid pandemic hit and everything was cancelled. No more tours. Luckily, most of my book, One for the Road, takes place in a small craft distillery and I had finished that research and was thus able to write the story. But things better open back up before I put the finishing touches on One Hundred Proof Murder, book two of the series, or this writer will be creating a lot more fiction than usual.
Please leave me comment about how the pandemic changed your life for a chance to One for the Road on audio (CD's) Winner drawn in one week. You must leave your email address. Sorry, US readers only.
Links: www.maryellis.net or
www.facebook.com/Mary.Ellis.Author
Buy link: Amazon.com: One for the Road (A Bourbon Tour mystery Book 1) eBook: Ellis, Mary: Kindle Store