'Stalked' author Allison Brennan loves her research
The takeaway from this post might be Allison Brennan, whose new release is Stalked, declaring that she's not a killer. Just in case you were wondering. Which, if you'd read her books, you might have. Here, Allison explains her research methods. If you want to get her excited, you might suggest she accompany you on a field trip. And, hey, if you stick around until the end of the post and leave us a comment, you could win a set of signed books by Allison.
Allison: I'm not a cop, I'm not a doctor or a teacher or a nurse or a bartender or a scientist or a killer. I rely on reading, interviews and "field trips" for my information.
Reading comes first: I have more than four dozen forensic and crime research books. On my desk now is Poison, a Writer's Digest book that I've used many times.
But reading doesn't always work. Sometimes, I need to visit a place to get the feeling for it well enough to be comfortable writing about it. Because I don't want to set a scene outside of the character's experience. Meaning, if I'm going to write about a medical examiner, the M.E. isn't going to describe every little thing they see because they've seen it a million times before. They're just going to DO, so I want to set the scene through the eyes of the character while giving enough sense of place so that the reader feels that she, too, is there.
Interviews are also an important part of research. While I spend more time with books, interviews provide me with far more valuable information.
I use two types of interviews — e-mails and personal. E-mails to friends who are experts in their field, like fellow writers CJ Lyons and Dr. DP Lyle, are extremely valuable. I even once sent a list of questions to the fabulous Kristan Higgins to ask her firefighter husband to answer! Writers understand writers. I can give them the set-up and what I need to have happen, and they help me with the details. Or, better, if I'm stuck — if I have this great crime by haven't been able to put it quite together — I can explain what's going on and we brainstorm.
I also will call upon professionals I don't know — such as when I was researching Above Reproach, my Guns and Roses short story, I first e-mailed then called the public information officer for Sacramento P.D. to find out how the sex crimes unit was structured. (I learned then that there were only six detectives assigned to sex crimes in the entire city of Sacramento.)
Personal interviews are also valuable because conversations are proactive. I can ask follow-up questions and maybe learn something I wasn't expecting.
While I love reading and talking, field trips are by far the most fun. I've been to the Sacramento County morgue where I toured the facility as well as observed an autopsy. I had been writing Playing Dead at the time and wanted to know what a body looked like after being submerged in water for 24 hours. They had such a case! I went through Folsom Prison with fellow author James Rollins, and the assistant warden told us that if we were taken hostage, they would not negotiate. She was not joking. Needless to say, Jim and I stuck close to our FBI escorts.
One of my favorite activities is SWAT training where I get to role play. Because I participated in the FBI Citizens Academy (where I earned the "My Characters Shoot Better Than I Do" award) I'm often invited to participate in training sessions. The instructors like to have role players to act as victims, extras or bad guys. I've been "shot," held hostage, handcuffed and carried out of an active shooter scenario.
And one of my most fun — and informative — field trips was visiting the FBI Academy at Quantico.
The first time I went was with the Citizen's Academy in 2009, but I really wanted to go back before writing Stalked, the Lucy Kincaid book that is set in part at Quantico. I was lucky enough to arrange a private tour with the media representative thanks to my friends in the Sacramento field office. I was on the East Coast for a writer's conference already, so it all worked beautifully!
What was wonderful was that I had the undivided attention of the media representative, Kurt Crawford, who answered all my questions — some I had prepared and sent ahead of time, and many I came up with as we walked through the campus. I could write a dozen books set there, but then my research would start to show! My most valuable contact was meeting the SSA in charge of physical training and defensive tactics who became an invaluable resource for Stalked. PT is such an important part of a new agent's training, and the SSA gave me so much information I thought I'd never remember it all. But I took good notes : )
One tidbit I used was all the construction currently happening on campus. Detours and closed buildings and areas cordoned off. There's a scene at a construction site on campus near the end of Stalked!
And I learned some things that frustrated me — like security issues. How could I have a killer at Quantico when everything is so secure? Access cards, security cameras, guard desk — not to mention that the campus is in the middle of a Marine base! But I figured some things out, and was able to use the security to my advantage.
But with all this research — which is a lot of fun in what can sometimes be a very solitary job — I never forget that less is more.
Most of the information I learned will never find its way into a book. But the feelings, the atmosphere, and some of the necessary details, will get there, and I hope the story is better for it.
When I participate in SWAT training or tours, I feel like I'm almost in another career. I learn so much in such a short period of time, I can almost picture myself as a cop or FBI agent or forensic pathologist. A little-known bit of trivia about me? When I was in seventh grade, I said I wanted to be a forensic pathologist when I grew up. That I've spent a couple days at the morgue was a genuine thrill. It was a job I could have done, and because I had an interest so long ago, I absorbed a lot more than I expected.
Being a writer is hugely rewarding, but I also get to live vicariously through my characters. I can be a new agent going through the FBI Academy. I can be a seasoned detective investigating a murder. And I can be a forensic pathologist finding the cause of death. At least for a few months.
Truly, I have the best job in the world because I can be anybody!
Don't forget to leave a comment! One commenter will win from Allison a signed set of her Lucy/Sean books (five books total).
She has a question for you: It takes me 3-4 months to write a book where I immerse myself in my characters lives and careers. If you had four months to work at any job you wanted, what would it be?
To find out more about Allison and her books, you can visit her website, AllisonBrennan.com.