By Nina Romano
I never hesitate to extend research. How do I do this? For a short story I set in the Roman Ghetto, I called up the local temple and spoke to a rabbi. I asked him if he’d be willing to read my manuscript before I submitted it and he said yes, so I sent it to him. Afterwards, we had a lovely conversation about the Jewish elements I’d included in the text.
For my novel Dark Eyes, I was on a boat from Moscow to St. Petersburg, a city I’d already been to and became enthralled with. On the Volga River, I met Vladimir Kalmykov, assistant professor at Russia’s Dorbroliubov State Linguistic University. I asked if I could interview him to discuss novel ideas. I wanted to incorporate them in a book I intended to write set in post Stalin Soviet Russia. I treated him to a coffee, and we spent a delightful hour together. I basically gave him the “elevator pitch” and quickly summed up what my novel would be about. Then I picked his brain! He thought my unusual plot would work, and the rest, they say, is history.
A year later, as I wrote the novel, I wanted to give it a Russian flavor and authenticity. I used a great many Russian words, which I made easily understood in the context of the prose. However, to make sure that a reader would not become frustrated by these foreign expressions, I did something unique by adding a glossary at the end of the novel.
I enjoy writing about places I’ve visited. I’ve been most blessed because I have traveled extensively with my husband. Traveling is research. These travels have enabled me to include many different facets of a culture within the structure of my fiction. Myth, religion, superstition, culinary experiences, history, geography, and bits of conversations in the form of dialogue, etc. These are the things I liberally use in every historical novel I’ve written. And I do it with confidence because I have been to so many countries and all seven continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.
If you want to know something, but have difficulty finding it, or you want to cross reference your finds, then call your local library if you can’t get there in person. Research librarians are a wonderful source for writers. It also helps to repay the kindness by giving these people a copy of your published novel. A little thank you for the assistance you received in say finding out the names of Russian cigarettes, cars, or vodkas!
