Research, Research, Research
One of the perks of being a writer is that I can justify some pretty wild and wooly vacations on the basis of "research".
So, when my proposal to set Nerd Gone Wild in Alaska was accepted by my publisher,
I decided that there was no better way to get to know the exotic setting than to plan a trip to
see it in person!
With very little prodding, my husband Larry agreed to come with me, and that is how we suddenly found ourselves standing on the deck of
a boat in the middle of Glacier Bay, bundled in clothes we
could never wear in Arizona, our fingers and toes numb, our breath creating puffs in front of our faces, and loving every minute of it!
Who says that research can't be fun?
Creating Porcupine
As I began working on Nerd Gone Wild, I looked forward to the challenge of creating a fictional town for my characters
to play in, especially since I've spent most of my life living in a town that's the flip-side of Alaska, where
people are tempted to wear oven mitts to drive their cars in summer, and routinely wear shorts in January.
I knew, therefore, that I needed to discover what kinds of unconventional behavior months of extreme cold might cause in local residents.
To accomplish this, a friend of mine suggested that I spend some time thinking about Northern Exposure. It was then that I had to
sheepishly admit that I'd never seen the show. After the initial shock wore off, she graciously offered to send me her collection of
tapes, and I watched every one, laughing myself silly.
While Nerd Gone Wild is certainly not Northern Exposure, (more like Northern Exposure meets Revenge of the Nerds),
I hope that my readers will have just as much fun reading about the antics of
the Porcupinians as I did visiting with the townspeople of Cicely. And for those of you who are wondering, I have it on good authority that
Alaskan winters really can freeze your nose hairs!
Large Print Edition
This is the cover for the large print edition of Nerd Gone Wild. I really like the look of it, although it's the first
time one of my romances has featured a bullet hole on the cover art!
