Guest posts

A Different Type of Research

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My guest today has taken his research and used it in a unique and compelling way, a way unlike anything I expected. Craig is a master at short storytelling; I always enjoy his super creative tales. If you’re not following Entertaining Stories, you may want to take a peek. Not only does he feature Lisa Burton Radio, where one character interviews another in radio station format but he also has The Idea Mill, where he shares real-life science as well as strange and unusual tidbits to use in fiction. Shawnee Daniels appeared on Lisa Burton Radio, and we had a blast. Welcome to Murder Blog, Craig!

Thanks for having me over again, Sue. Looks like we both have new books to promote, so don’t be shy about borrowing my space any time you like.

My newest release is a collection of short stories and anthems called The Enhanced League. It covers a year in the life of a professional baseball league where there’s a lot more flash, and nobody tests for performance enhancing drugs. It has a tiny science fiction background to it, but the stories are more human interest, and centered around baseball.

My requested topic was research, and it’s a good topic. I write speculative fiction, and many people think we get to simply make things up without doing the research. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In speculative genres, you’re always going to ask for a leap of faith and you expect readers to take it with you. Zombies come immediately to mind. We all know they aren’t real, but to enjoy the story you kind of have to go with it. One of the tricks is not to ask for too many of those leaps of faith.

A real world setting should reflect the real world. Even Google Maps can help with this. Simple physics should be respected. Water still flows downhill, gravity still applies, that kind of thing.

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You would think an author/fan of baseball wouldn’t have to do much research, but that isn’t true. There are little things, like the fact that umpires travel in crews, that need to apply. One of them is the Crew Chief, and all of them rotate positions from game to game. This means the Crew Chief isn’t always behind the plate. This kind of thing isn’t detailed in the book, but it happens in the background to keep it realistic.

Because of the flashy, no-limits atmosphere in The Enhanced League, they draw more fans. This means I could place the teams in towns that probably couldn’t support a Major League Team. I had to do research into what cities I might use. I had to invent two leagues that would battle for a world championship. I chose to make them North and South, just to be different. Back to the maps to determine my dividing line.

The Enhanced League is more international in scope than Major League Baseball. I had to research locations in Japan and Puerto Rico to place some of my teams.

I used a lot of charts here too, because I was aware of the Supreme Court ruling that allows Major League Baseball to be the only legal monopoly in America. I never discuss this in the book, but I purposely changed the game enough that perhaps it would fly past a challenge under that decision. The charts helped me keep up with an eight man rotation in one of the only actual games represented in the book. (My pitchers never hit, and there is no designated hitter.)

I also spent a lot of time listening to sports radio, and watching recap broadcasts. I have a team of sportscasters, and wanted to make their banter realistic.

Most of my research never shows in the book, but it influenced the entire thing. I think this helps readers to swallow the one leap of faith I ask them to take in the final product.

I hope you’ll take a chance on The Enhanced League, and at 99¢ I know you’ll find something to enjoy about it. There are a lot of human interest stories, a statement on the treatment of women in the workplace, some drug related concepts, and a few deplorable businessmen. My anthems are something unique and are designed to enhance the overall book.

Click to look inside.

The Enhanced league is a collection of short stories and anthems centered around a year in a fictional baseball league. It has a slight science fiction background. This league has a lot more pomp than you might be used to, and nobody seems to care if the players use performance enhancing drugs.

Stories involve existing heroes, up and comers, and falling stars. While there are the obvious stories that take place on the field of play, there are also human interest stories that take place around the baseball gyrations. These stories involve scouting, trades, ruthless business decisions, and even relationships.

I enjoyed researching and bringing you The Enhanced League, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. — CB

Find The Enhanced League HERE. (Note from Sue: I’ve got my copy!)

I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.

I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century, and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.

I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Craig

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Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs on the Kill Zone (Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers"), Writers Helping Writers, and StoryEmpire. Sue lives with her husband in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Her backlist includes psychological thrillers, the Mayhem Series (books 1-3) and Grafton County Series, and true crime/narrative nonfiction. Now, she exclusively writes eco-thrillers, Mayhem Series (books 4-9 and continuing). Sue's appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion, and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with her murder of crows, who live free but come when called by name. And nature feeds her soul.

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