research: Mmm...mmm, good!

I have written over forty historical novels for middle grade readers. Research is an old friend, a good friend, and I employ all its tricks and tools to enrich my fantasy novels. Two great sources:

http://www.bookfinder.com/
which links thousands of small rare and used bookstores
(and a few large ones)

and
http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html
The University of Idaho maintains a massive, worldwide list of primary source repositories. I have used it extensively; it's remarkable.
Primary sources are diaries, old newspapers, rent receipts from the 1800's, illuminated manuscripts for the 1200s, any kind of record left behind by real people. Fascinating!

I get paid for this?

Writing can be hard, tedious, frustrating, bang-your-head-on-your-keyboard elusive. But when it flies, it flies, and you get to fly with it. Sometimes it feels like I am eavesdropping on the people in the book and just transcribing their lives. *Those* are the days when I am amazed that this is my job.