What I’m reading now

The approach I take with writing the stories requires a lot of research. Research not only on the cryptid that is the focus of the book, but the local area, local beer, and I try to bring in aspects of the local culture.

For the current work in progress the story is set in New England. I have visited there many times over the years, but also involves a lot of reading and research. That includes memoirs from the area such as Mud Season: How One Woman's Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickens and Sheep, and Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity After Another by Ellen Stimson to field guides such as Does Champ Exist? by Gary S. Mangiacopra and The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep by legendary cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, and other cryptozoology fiction such as Naitaka by Lee Murphy (I really enjoy his work). And there will be more to come. Even though I am writing my own take on various cryptids I do like to read some of what is out there already and try to at least describe it consistently. If someone already has an impression of what a creature is I don't want to write something that they will not recognize and immediately turn off.

What's on your reading shelf? (#research #whatareyoureading #books)