Hello, and welcome to a another weekend selfie.
My, how the weeks fly by. And always they are punctuated by what we in the UK call 'bank holidays'. Easter has thankfully come and gone, but not the eggs that proliferate everywhere at this time. Strangely, our hens went on strike for a few days over the easter period. No doubt pleased that the chocolate variety had taken some of the strain from them.
Anyway, without further thoughts of tin foil coated chocolate eggs, no doubt laid by startled chocolate chickens and delivered by chocolate rabbits, Mrs H has confirmed she and I have a small stash, or rather 'clutch', of eggs in the fridge to see us through to next year.
We here at the Manor House have been hard at work. Mrs H and I have been writing as well as editing. It is a tricky time as it is hard to settle on writing book three of my adventures whilst awaiting the imminent return of book two line edits from our editor proper.
If any of you good folks have ever done research for a book, or for that matter, any sort of work, you will know the pleasures and pains involved. As a teaser, well, a bit of one, let us explain. Book three of our adventures sees Mrs H and I heading abroad for a much needed rest after the trials and pains of book two.
The location is around Africa/Middle east. The time, 1923. Authenticity is key to any work, fact or fiction. So those places we visit/mention need to be correctly described, named and also located/placed for the period.
What a ride it has been to cross reference names, places, and descriptions. You'd have thought something as simple as a bridge would have a name that ran through, if not centuries then decades, right? Of course the answer is a resounding 'WRONG'. If it wasn't for the fact that this particular bridge is interesting, then we would have given it a miss.
So plough on we did and soon discovered the bridge had been tinkered with and rebuilt and renamed three times, as well as having many local names as a result. None of the names are wrong, but each isn't definitive. When local historians can't even decide what a place is called, no doubt because local documents can't decide either, then there is little chance of a humble writer getting it exact, either.
Fortunately, unlike many other places in the story, it hasn't moved, at least not that much.
Finally, for all the research that Mrs H and I have done, we know very little will be actually used in the final account of our adventure. Enough that it whets the taste buds without weighing it down. Also enough to satisfies the strictest of the very few readers that will pick the book up and say: "Ah, but it wasn't called that then."
Due diligence is a long process. It sometimes involves making trade-offs, balancing, if not hard facts, then slightly soft facts against the need for people to be able to relate to modern times and places. At least for fictional works.
We have even had to do due diligence on a fictional beast. Now that might sound strange, but you have to be able to say that its appearance doesn't conflict with anything else.
For all the woes, stress and strain, it makes for a wonderful conclusion and great feeling, to see the book out there in the world.
So without further ado, and with the utmost due diligence, I give you ME!
We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue, from the Cat on My Head blog in America. Click this sentence to visit Janet Blue's site.
Till Laters!
ERin
