In the name of 'research'...

I am awake and the novel Manhattan Dreaming is on the shelves, finally.

Last January, Lauren Lucas – the deadly protagonist – and I were in Manhattan ‘researching’ the novel. As you can imagine, it was a difficult task having to trawl up and down 5th Avenue (and 6th and 7th Avenues also) for a bargain. Riding the horse and carriage around Central Park wasn’t much fun either. Nor was taking our time strolling through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Jewish Museum.

Everyone assumes researching a novel like this – about relationships, culture and the best city in the world – would be fun. But it was work I tell you, and hard work at that. Lauren is nodding her head in agreement.

As with every research trip for any book, I had my note-pad and pen out the entire time. From 9am to midnight pen was poised and my mind ticked over with thoughts on dialogue, scenes and new characters as we caught trains from one end of the city to the other, sat in cafes in SoHo and near Chelsea Markets, and even travelled on the Staten Island Ferry to Lady Liberty.

It was fun travelling with Lauren though; she is young, vibrant and passionate about her work as a curator, and about living life. Only problem is that Lovely Lauren suffers from anxiety and gets claustrophobic so it was difficult at times. I nearly had to slap her when she balked at getting into the lift to go up the Empire State Building, but it was a ride that was essential to our visit to NYC, and to the storyline. Can’t really say any more than that, you’ll have to read the book.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you the highlights of the ‘research trip’!

PS I will resume my 'gratefulness blog next weekend... until then, you all know I'm grateful that you drop by to read my words each day. Peace to you all.