Wednesday Wanderings - May 10th

London - Day 1

What an amazing trip it was. We tried to get an Uber to take us to our flat the day we arrived. It just happened to be the day of the London Marathon. Nothing was able to get through, so public transportation it was.

View of the London Marathon

I've seen the London Eye destroyed so many times in movies

that it was surreal to see it in person.

And in one piece.

Some beautiful gardens near our flat.

We did a little sightseeing.

Big Ben is another iconic landmark that was dreamlike to see in person.

Whitehall Gardens 

Westminster

We timed it just right to attend an organ recital at Westminster Cathedral.

I took this picture before I realized we weren't supposed to.

Don't tell!

We had the BEST Fish & Chips of our trip that first night in a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The tartar sauce was amazing, and the chips ... yum!

So what have you been up to? Have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy 2?

IWSG - May 2017

Click here to find out more and to see a list of other IWSG blogs.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The co-hosts this month are Co-Hosts:  Nancy Gideon, Tamara Narayan, Liesbet @ Roaming About, Michelle Wallace, and Feather Stone!

I'm a day late with this, having just returned from a research trip to the UK and still being sleep deprived.

The question posed this month is:

What is the weirdest/coolest thing that you have had to research for your story?

Based upon my most recent trip, I think researching a locale can provide tons of fun information. I came away from the Scotland portion of the trip with the premise for a new story and lots of fodder for the one I went there to glean.

But for A Change of Plans, I researched all kinds of survival stuff since the main characters were shipwrecked. If I'm ever in that situation, I think I now at least stand a chance.

What about you?

Gaze Into Heaven by Marlene Bateman Sullivan . . . Giveaway!

Gaze Into Heaven is a collection of true near-death experiences from the lives of early-day Latter-day Saints. These accounts date back to the early 1800s and relate what Saints experienced when they visited the Spirit World. These accounts have been carefully researched and are interspersed with scriptures, insights, and quotes from latter-day prophets and other Church leaders. After reading this book you will never be able to think of life or death in the same way.

I asked author Marlene Bateman Sullivan if she'd share some information about the kind of research she had to do for this nonfiction work:

Researching means spending a lot of time in libraries, so make sure that is something you enjoy before delving into nonfiction.  I did most of my research at the Church History Library, the Church Archives, BYU Library, and at Utah State University. I also checked out the University of Utah and local libraries. 

I was researching for my first book, Latter-day Saint Heroes and Heroines, (true stories about people who risked their life for the gospel) when I came across a few near-death experiences.  I was fascinated by these stories, as most people are. I jotted down the references and put them aside, thinking I would come back to them after I finished up my other projects. Many writers do the same thing—come across stories that give you ideas for future books. Be sure and write these down in a file some place!

I got sidetracked as I researched because I found amazing stories about angels coming to comfort, inspire, or direct early latter-day Saints.  I then decided to do a book (which expanded into three) on angels. So for the next few years, I did research and wrote about angelic visitations for my next three books; And There Were Angels Among them, Visits from Beyond the Veil, and By the Ministering of Angels. There were so many experiences that I had to limit the experiences in the book to people who had either seen or heard an angel. These experiences all came from the lives of early Latter-day Saints.

Finally, I thought I would be able to start researching near-death experiences, but once again, got sidetracked and decided to finish up a novel I’d been writing for some time: Light on Fire Island. 

After that, I started researching near-death experiences in earnest to see if I could find enough to fill a book. I found more than enough.  So many, in fact, that I’d like to write a sequel.

A person could spend years in the library, so aspiring writers need to decide on a topic before going to do research. 

Computer searches are wonderful, but they are limited.  Make sure that you choose a search that pulls up information from ALL sources, not just search one collection.

Another thing that helped me is to type in different words in my searches. Of course I typed in near-death experiences.  Watch out for hyphens, though.  I also typed in near death experiences and got a different list.  Go through your thesaurus if you need to and come up with different words to describe what you are looking for.  For example, I didn’t just type in “heaven” I also typed in “Spirit World” and “next life.”  Also “death.”  You never know what word might bring up information that you can use.

Be sure to check out related subjects—these usually appear either at the side of the computer screen or at the bottom. They may lead you to rich new sources of material.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The people at libraries are happy to assist you. During your first visit, ask them to explain the layout of the library. They will give you great advice. It really helps to get their expertise on how to use the computer to navigate their particular system.  Asking for their help will save you a lot of time! 

Anyone who writes nonfiction must love to research, and I do. I especially loved researching near-death experiences and was amazed at how similar they were to modern-day experiences. There were a few differences. For instance, many early Latter-day Saints who visited the Spirit World saw LDS Church leaders.  A number also saw the gospel being preached.  But most elements seen in modern day experiences were the same; such as being met by a guide or family member who escorts the person to heaven, experiencing feelings of great love and joy, being reunited with deceased family members and friends, and also the incredible beauty of the Spirit World. Every experience I found while researching was a testimony to me that God lives and loves us, that the Church is true, that life continues on, and that mortality is a time of testing and a time for us to gain knowledge.

Good luck and happy researching!

I have a copy of this inspirational read to give away--U.S. only. All you have to do is comment below indicating that you're interested--please provide your email address. I'll do the drawing on Monday.

It's available online or in physical bookstores (yes, they still have a few of those, here and there).

Amazon     Deseret Book     Seagull Books

What do you think of near-death experiences? My hubby had one once. Fell 32-feet out of a tree (before we were married). Bounced his spirit right out of his body. He watched from above as everyone came running to where he was on the ground. *shivers*

And the winner is . . .

The winner

of

Twitterpated

by

 Melanie Jacobson 

is

ilima

Since tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, the day when anyone in the U.S. can pretend to be Irish (I am, and my two older children are even more so, since they get it from both sides of the family), I thought I'd post a couple of pictures from my trip to Ireland last April. 

This is at the Poulnabrone Dolmen--a portal tomb in County Clare. It's older than Stone Henge.

The Cliffs of Moher

Even their asphalt is green. lol This is in Connemara where they have world famous marble.

Kylemore Abbey - they have beautiful gardens there but we got there a few minutes too late.

The is from the town of Cong, where they filmed a bunch of stuff for The Quiet Man. There're also amazing ruins of an abbey there. They have a gorgeous recreation area where we took a hike.

Cong Abbey

This is the Ross Errilly Friary--they abandoned this place in the 1600s. For an American, where something is old when it's 150-200 years old, this is mind boggling.

We also made it to Dublin and visited St. Patrick's Cathedral and Christ Church, toured Dublinia and tons of other stuff and generally had too much fun.

Now that I've bored you with my travelogue, I have to say that I loved my visit. I SO have to go back. Really. And I have a great excuse. One of my future books is going to take place there, so I'll need to refresh my memory. Right?

Have any of you visited a real location for research for a book?