The topic of the February 5 meeting, presented by Patricia Canterbury, was on researching to make writing more authentic. Patricia is a writer of childrens’ and mid-grade mystery and crime fiction books. She discussed her research on the theme of her book, Carlotta’s Secret, the first novel in her Delta Mysteries. Her books are commercially published. Patricia is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

 Her key themes included 1) Communicate with professionals who understand the context of research. “Librarians are wonderful,” she added. 2) Writers must clarify what they need. “Research must be clear. Spell it out because of other people’s mindset.” 3) Writers have authority. Patricia visited the castle in the city of Ione after it was condemned. She said, “You can get into any place, locate any document, and be admitted into places that are otherwise closed off to the public just by saying, ‘I’m a writer.’ 4) Visit the town you want to write about because people take pride in their hometowns. 5) Research appropriate slang for a specific time period. 6) Consider what you can or cannot write before a certain date (ex: before 9/11), otherwise you may have to rewrite your book.