Research and the Author - eBay is my Friend

 I’ve been known to say eBay is my friend. I usually say this just before a delivery of inexpensive yarn, an absolute steal of school uniform or an extremely elderly cookbook. My poor husband hears these words and knows that I’ve happened again. You know, like the time I wanted one handbag but somehow ended up with a bundle of twenty delivered and the box was too heavy for me to lift. I think I paid around £20 including postage, used four of them for years, donated some and father adopted a significant number to pass on to his lady friends at church. Or the fifty men’s ties. Or the multicoloured trash bags. I have form with eBay.

What happened to some of those ties. The became a rather useful bag.

When I sat down to write Cookies and Carburettors, I knew that I had no knowledge of cars. However I decided that I’d stick to vaguely plausible and get on with the plot. So as the lads bicker over car parts I thought should I look up car repairs? Or should I try something else? When it comes to parts of a car, I can identify things like wheels and doors. However, if I look on eBay, I knew that I’d find a stack of car parts for sale and I could just use a name from the list. To be fair, I started looking under ‘Cars’ but had to rummage for ‘Vehicle Parts and Accessories’ to be reminded that brakes existed. I didn’t need to click on individual listings but could just make a note and move on. Given how easily I fall down research rabbit holes, this is a good thing. Mind you, I did browse the knitting yarn while I was on there. I managed to resist buying more, but it was a close call.

It works the same for books. If I need an idea for an esoteric book dating from the 1800s, I could go down all sorts of crazy paths, or just have a quick look on the listings for Antiquarian books. You need more detailed research if you want to have some sort of reference to the contents, but in the past I’ve found a book on eBay, looked it up on Wikipedia and skimmed through on Project Gutenberg. If I want to immerse myself, I can find references all over, but just as part of a plot as dark forces try and claim an ancient tome, well, I may as well just pick an authentic title.

One of my scores from eBay

By the way, did you know that you can buy books by the yard? I find that a fascinating idea. Obviously the plot potential is enormous. You’re unlikely to find a valuable first edition in those lots as the dealers are making a living and aren’t likely to leave, for example, an early copy of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings stashed in there. But the books may have one with a letter hidden inside it, or a dated microdot slipped inside the spine, or some notes in the margins that are a vital clue to a mystery, and these may have strange forces searching for them.

I don’t have a huge knowledge of fashion either, so when I was working on a background project that needed a reference to expensive clothes, I turned to my friend eBay. I didn’t need to give too many details, but I wanted to imply fashion. Now, even I have heard of lady’s evening gowns from Gucci and Chanel, but I had no idea what sort of designer brands were worn by men. My husband and son get sent to Marks & Spencer which is quality but absolutely not high fashion. I went to my friend eBay, searched for men’s fashion and sorted most expensive to least expensive. I found out that I was likely to talk about Tom Ford and Prada, and that there are a lot of very strange clothes out there.

This book is wonderfully mighty and for some reason it makes me feel all grown up when I'm using it.

Finally, sometimes you can find books you can use for the purposes of research. I picked up a massive Times Gazetteer of the World, 1899 edition, and I’ve dipped into it a few times when thinking about the steampunk world I’ve written (which will definitely be republished soon!). I’ve found it fascinating reading, and while I could probably find the information online, there’s something incredibly satisfying about leafing through those pages and imagining where I could send a certain Lord John Farnley next.

The above examples are small things that could easily be ignored but if the details are wrong, it can distract a reader. I'd rather get it right. And while eBay has drawn me into a lot of bad purchasing decisions, when it comes to research, eBay is my friend.

There is a page with links to all the Research and the Author posts here and I hope that you feel happy to dip in.