We’re so pleased to have author Shae Connor stopping by TNA today on the tour for her new novella, Heart & Soul.
Welcome, Shae!
You Could Look It Up
Great big thanks to Lisa for having me today for the release of my new novella, Heart & Soul. :)
When I’m working on a new story, I often get sidetracked with research. I research some things before I start writing, but most questions come up while I’m drafting. Sometimes I stop and look things up on the spot—great for procrastination—and other times I’ll insert a comment and come back later. The amount and types of research I do vary a lot depending on the story, though some websites come up repeatedly. Google Maps always gets a workout, for example. And I often crowdsource answers on Twitter or Facebook.
I’m luckier than some authors. I don’t write suspense or crime or mystery, so I don’t have to research murder methods or blood spatter patterns or anything like that. The worst things likely to show up in my search history are injury recovery times and legal considerations. Well, and the occasional NSFW question.
Heart & Soul actually required much less research than most of my stories, but even then, I had a lot I needed to look up. Here’s an incomplete list of things I researched for this novella:
- Multiple types of college degrees at two institutions. When I name specific schools, I prefer to use degree programs they offer in reality.
- Long-term effects of concussions. I have not, however, seen the movie Concussion.
- Options for male infertility. Mostly whether what I had in mind made sense (it did).
- The Braves’ schedule and…
- … the Falcons’ schedule. They were nice enough to line up the way I needed them to.
- Various types of beer. I don’t drink beer or wine, so I look up details on those a lot.
- Various Atlanta neighborhoods. Just because I live here doesn’t mean I know all of its secrets.
- Law firms. Again, mostly to be sure what I had in mind would work.
- The layout, features, and animals at the Atlanta zoo. I’ve been there, but just once, and I needed more detail than I remembered.
- Movies 4-year-old boys would like (and that wouldn’t be completely outdated within a few months, LOL).
Seriously, I am so grateful for the existence of the internet. I cannot imagine how much time and effort it took authors to research details like these before we could look them up online. Between Google and friends, I rarely need to go somewhere in person (which I did do for my next novella) or contact strangers with questions (which I’ll need to do for an upcoming story). The internet has made it easier to publish books, but it’s also made it much easier to write them believably in the first place.
Of course, it also makes it easier for people to know when you do goof up, but hey. Can’t win ’em all. :)
About the Book
Title: Heart & Soul
Author: Shae Connor
Cover artist: AngstyG
Length: Novella (27,000 words)
Price: $2.99
Buy Links: Amazon || B&N || All Romance || Kobo
Add Heart & Soul to Goodreads
Blurb: Love can sneak up on you in the last place you’d expect.
Kellen Grady has known he’s gay since he was a teenager, but he’s never been that interested in dating. A professional pianist, he’s happy spending his days teaching students of all ages and his nights working and playing at an Atlanta bar and concert venue. When former pro football player Terrence Harvey and his brother buy the bar, Kellen’s thrown by the change to his routine, but he develops a quick friendship with Terrence, drawn to his sunny nature and sharp mind. Then their relationship takes a turn when Terrence surprises Kellen with a kiss. The unexpected action, though not unwelcome, leaves Kellen faced with reevaluating everything he thought he knew—about Terrence, and about himself.
About the Author
Shae Connor lives in Atlanta, where she’s a lackadaisical government worker for a living and writes sweet-hot romance under the cover of night. She’s been making things up for as long as she can remember, but it took her a long time to figure out that maybe she should try writing them down. A member of the Romance Writers of America, Shae was first published in 2010 and has a lineup of short stories, novellas, and novels available.
Shae is part Jersey, part Irish, and all Southern, which explains why she never shuts up. When she’s not in front of her laptop, she enjoying cooking, traveling, watching baseball, reading voraciously, wearing tiaras, and hugging a lot. She’s also the volunteer Director/Editor for the Dragon Con on-site publication, the Daily Dragon.
You can find Shae hanging out on Twitter most any time @shaeconnor, but for the more direct route, you can visit her website at shaeconnorwrites.com or email her at shaeconnorwrites @gmail.com. You can also sign up for her mailing list.