37 min

Gracewriters Podcast #70: Romance novelist Alison Joy on using research to create authentic fiction Gracewriters Podcast

    • Christianity

In this episode, Belinda Pollard and Donita Bundy interview romance novelist (and podcast co-host) Alison Joy. Alison writes romance novels set in Australia and the South Pacific. She shares a variety of research techniques she has developed to help her create fictional locations, events and characters that ring true.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe to the podcast! And go to gracewriters.com for show notes, transcript, useful links and factsheets, and to connect with our online community.
Episode summary:
How Alison got an idea for a novel series from an exercise class. Creating small town communities on the page using a combination of research and personal experience. Different ways to use recurring characters in a series. Using actual locations, buildings, sites, facilities to inspire authentic fictional ones. How Alison produced an actual country song for book promotion. Different research techniques used by Belinda and Donita – interviews, travel, experiences, googling, historical research. The benefits and pitfalls of research – how it enriches your writing and your life, but you can end up down rabbit holes! Coping with the uncertainty of whether we should be writing, especially when we don’t write “Christian” books.

In this episode, Belinda Pollard and Donita Bundy interview romance novelist (and podcast co-host) Alison Joy. Alison writes romance novels set in Australia and the South Pacific. She shares a variety of research techniques she has developed to help her create fictional locations, events and characters that ring true.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe to the podcast! And go to gracewriters.com for show notes, transcript, useful links and factsheets, and to connect with our online community.
Episode summary:
How Alison got an idea for a novel series from an exercise class. Creating small town communities on the page using a combination of research and personal experience. Different ways to use recurring characters in a series. Using actual locations, buildings, sites, facilities to inspire authentic fictional ones. How Alison produced an actual country song for book promotion. Different research techniques used by Belinda and Donita – interviews, travel, experiences, googling, historical research. The benefits and pitfalls of research – how it enriches your writing and your life, but you can end up down rabbit holes! Coping with the uncertainty of whether we should be writing, especially when we don’t write “Christian” books.

37 min