Just the Facts, Ma'am

 

Do I look like the relative of

an infamous man?

Research is so important, even when you’re writing fiction. There have been many blogs written about the topic, and they all make sense. I’m going to touch on another aspect of research.

Double check your facts if your information is coming from research done on the Internet.

Bartalo (or Bartolo) Ballerino was my great-great-grandfather. On a whim, I looked him up on the Internet and found more than I bargained for. He wasn’t a pillar of the community, and in fact, while he started out as a farmer, he and Theobald Bauer, an ex-boxer, ended up running the Red Light District in Old Los Angeles. He was notorious throughout the southwest, but it wasn’t for the reasons I found in my wanderings.

According to a few websites he was Italian and a big, bad Italian mob boss. Uh, he wasn’t Italian and his real name wasn’t Ballerino. He wasn’t part of Little Italy, and he wasn’t a crime boss for the mob.

Actually, he arrived from Chile and assumed a new name –  Ballerino. No one knows what his true name was, although I do know what county he was from (in Chile). However, we (family) do know of his line of work. He inspired the book, A Well-Kept Family Secret, which is fiction but which includes some facts relating to the time period. He and my great-great-grandmother eventually became naturalized American citizens.

Am I defending him? Not really, and yet, in a way I am. He wasn’t a stellar citizen, but he wasn’t a mob boss either. Yes, there are legends about him, but they don’t relate to The Mob. There are stories passed down through my family, but again, they don’t relate to The Mob.

Do I have documentation about him? You betcha!

By the way, there is a family legend about him hiding gold in Old Los Angeles. I used that as part of my storyline. For years, both family and strangers searched Los Angeles for the gold. It was never found, to the best of my knowledge. If it was found, no one ever stepped up the plate and held up their index finger, saying, “Yoohoo. I found the gold.”

So why would I use this relative as an example of researching? Because what’s been posted about him isn’t true. It’s one of those rare times when I actually know what I’m talking about. When you research a subject you might find some really exciting information on the Internet, but take a deep breath and do a little more research. Make sure you have the facts, as much as possible, especially if you’re going to write about an historical figure.

I noticed that the person(s) who posted information about Ballerino made a point of saying they didn’t have his date of birth or death. Hmm. I do. I did some honest research and didn’t make assumptions. I know a lot about him, his life, and his family.

In Old Murders Never Die I needed to include appliances that were used in the late 1800s. I researched those before writing the book. It sounds like a small thing, but if a writer gets it wrong, someone will call them on it. I needed a stove that would have been used around 1880, not 1915, or 1920. I included an ice box, not a refrigerator. Appliances were just the beginning of the research.

Sometimes we need to examine even the smallest things. Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts. Don’t make things up, which I’ve seen done many times. Know what you’re talking about. By the way, some readers will take the fictionalized facts as… Well, fact. Your readers need to trust you.

What are some of the things you’ve had to research that were different, or odd? What type of research gave you the most trouble? Did you do your research online or at the library, using a book? The curious want to know.

Until next time, visit your local library and look for the facts, ma’am (or sir). And remember, relatives are just a little drip in the big gene pool of life.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

What Are the Odds? is based on a real house where I was able to do firsthand research. The story is fiction, but the house is real and described the way it really was, including a hidden staircase.

Mysterious Layers

I use a special program to create my book covers and it has a layering function. For those who don’t know, this means I can take a picture and layer things over it. If I want to I can start with a country scene with an large oak tree, and then I can add a dog under the tree, add a large, gaping hole with a skeleton in it, and end with another dog next to the hole in the ground.

However, this post isn’t about book covers. It’s about layers, and it’s about mysteries.

The basis for your story might be about a family going on vacation. From there the author will start layering.

Where did the family go? Where did they stay? Who did they see? What did they do? In the midst of the vacation, how did they suddenly cross paths with a dead body? What did they do about it?  

Each one of those questions is answered with a new layer.

Of course, I’m not telling mystery writers something they don’t already know. It might give readers a new perspective, though.

In Awkward Moments – A Bogey Man Mystery, while on vacation young Mikey Cross digs a hole in which to bury a dead bird and finds the vintage remains of a man. Under the body he finds bags of gold. It started with a vacation and turned into a murder investigation after layers started being unveiled. By the way, the book cover described above is the cover for this story.

I can only speak for myself, but when reading a mystery I like to savor every layer and try to figure out who done it and why. I do the same thing when I watch a mystery show on television. Even if my conclusions are wrong, as long as the outcome makes sense, I’ve still had a good time trying to figure things out. The key is that the ending leaves the reader feeling fulfilled because it made sense. Sometimes you have to slap the palm of your hand on your forehead and say, “Now why didn’t I see that coming?”

At one time my husband liked to “channel surf”, which drove me nuts. He’d pick up the remote control and start clicking to see what else might be on. It went something like this:

            “And the killer is…”

click

            “The secret ingredient is…”

click

            “Next week all will be revealed about why…”

click

“The butler couldn’t have done it because…”

click

Sometimes you have to look at the funny side. Otherwise, that remote might have ended up in the trash or in a good hiding place.

Off topic, but this reminds me of why I don’t like books that end with a cliffhanger, making you buy the next book to find out what happened. Of course, there are exceptions or we’d probably be reading seven hundred page books. Been there, done that. No more. It reminds me of laying a story too many times. Give me a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter, and I’m good – not at the end of a story. I like to feel fulfilled when I close the book.

Think about what you’ve just read in this post. It layered from one thing to another. How else could I have gotten from book covers to cliffhangers and still make sense? At least, I hope I made sense. You never know with me.

As a reader, how do you feel about layers in a story? Doesn’t it feel a bit one-dimensional without them?

Until next time, think about the layers in your everyday life. If the layers don’t feel right, try to make a few changes so they add up to a good week.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Don’t forget about How Now Purple Cow – A Bogey Man Mystery whose purple cows and elderly spies just might knock your socks off.

I grew up hearing a legend about my great-great-grandfather burying treasure so his brother wouldn’t find it. Long story, but that’s what we heard. He was one of two men who ran the Old Red Light District in Los Angeles, California. 

Several years later, when I was working on family history, I found out that it wasn’t just a family legend, but it was a story that had made the rounds in Old Los Angeles. After his death, the family tried to find it in the early 1900s. Nothing.

He and his legend inspired A Well-Kept Family Secret - A Sandi Webster Mystery. Although this story took place today, it involved the 1800s. There was a lot of research to be done. I discovered an old newspaper article about the treasure while researching. As late as the 1940s, people were still searching for it. Interesting?

I read an article in the newspaper back in the 1990s about an archaeological project in Los Angeles, and it involved the area where my great-great-grandfather did business. Fascinated, I contacted the archaeologist in charge. He sent me a great amount of information which included so much more than I’d expected. He has no idea how thankful I am.

I included a buried treasure in Awkward Moments - A Bogey Man Mystery, too. Interestingly, not long after this book was released, there was an article in the newspaper about a couple taking a stroll around their property, and lo and behold, they found a buried treasure. I think I mentioned this in an earlier post.

Wow! Reality mimicking fiction? It happens.

Recently I found another interesting article in the newspaper. In the remote mountains of eastern Nevada, someone discovered an old Winchester rifle resting against a juniper tree during an archaeological survey. The serial number was still visible on the gun and it was determined it was manufactured in 1882. It’s possible the rifle has rested against that tree since the late 1800s.

Herbert Houze is the former curator of what became known as the Cody Firearms Museum in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which is located in Cody, Wyoming. After looking at photos of the gun he said it blended in so well with its surroundings that it wasn’t surprising no one had found it until now. Someone on the project apparently just happened to look at the tree in just the right light, at just the right moment.

The wooden stock on the rifle is cracked but still intact. The barrel is rusted. I can’t help but wish I’d been the one to find it.

One would have to wonder who left the gun leaning against the tree, and why they never went back for it. Did he get lost? Was there a bear attack? Was he injured in an accident? This is a mystery that may never be solved, but please, someone take the idea and run with it. Write a mystery revolving around the rifle. It would be a book I’d like to read.

I went on a trek with a few other people a few years ago. We were accompanying a gentleman creating an archaeological map for a new area about to be studied. We found all kinds of Indian artifacts (which we left onsite), and it amazed me when I realized we were seeing things no one had laid eyes on in hundreds, or quite possibly, a thousand years. Exciting stuff!

When you least expect it, you might find an article in the newspaper that grabs hold of you and won’t let go. Legends can grab you, too. So can a simple walk down a trail.

I know some people don’t care much about history, but I do and these articles put a hem in my skirt. Well, I generally wear jeans, but you get the idea.

Until next time, if you’ve ever made a discovery, please share it with us. You could stir up someone’s imagination and a good book might be born.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

COMING SOON: How Now Purple Cow – A Bogey Man Mystery. What could purple cows and elderly spies possibly have to do with each other? Ask the Bogey Man.