And what local sources? Don't exactly have my fingers on a lot of pulses.

At first, it's more about getting general information than burrowing in or going underground. So once you've picked the case and done some preliminary research, the next step would probably be calling the police department (ask for their public relations specialist, or whoever handles the media; if there isn't one, try to get the officer who handled the case. The officer will know more, but most bureaucracies want you to go through PR first anyhow.), the defense and prosecuting attorneys, and any relatives/friends/advocates who yelped their heads off about the case to the news. You'll probably get a few "no comments," but it should send you on your way.

Also, the courthouse will have trial transcripts and other documents, if you call around a bit.

If you had to be an expert to write about something, I'd be in trouble. You only have to know how to research and how to string words together in an interesting way.

True. If the author or character voice is interesting enough--and the information is relevant to the plot and characters--exposition can be entertaining rather than the opposite. Two very different authors--Robertson Davies and Tim Powers--are both masters at laying out huge tracts of information and explanation that are absolutely spellbinding. Part of this is the ability to pick out and highlight the truly interesting and telling facts and details rather than just doing an info-dump on the reader.

For those who wanted the link, How to Succeed as a Failing Writer is up at WriteMovies.com.

Enjoy!

Great essay, Victor. Witty and insightful.

Thanks, Consuela!

So, how does this sound for an email to that agent that said the nice things to get more clarity on the first person issue?

Dear AgentName,

Thank you very much for the valuable input you provided on the partial I recently submitted of LUCY AND MR. WRIGHT. You mentioned that you weren't convinced about the first person narrative. Would you mind telling me if that was a craft issue or a marketing one? If the former, I'd want to review the voice and POV before my next round of submissions, but if the latter, I may just need to set this manuscript aside in hopes that someday first-person historical romances will come into vogue!

Thanks again for your consideration. I'm currently working on my second novel, which is also a Regency historical but is written in third person from both the hero's and heroine's POV and has a faster-paced, more action-oriented plot. Would you be open to considering it when it is complete?

Sincerely,
MyFullName

Susan, sounds like a nice basic request to me, on every level.

Thanks! Email has now been sent.

Wow. And already I get a response. She said it was a craft issue--she thought the use of first person was a little too modern, and she wasn't entirely won over by Lucy, so having her as the narrator didn't help.

So to me, that's a YMMV issue, and nothing to prevent me from re-submitting it elsewhere as soon as I've given it that pacing edit.

There, see? You can generally assume that, with a response as detailed as the original one she gave you, she liked it enough to have formed opinions and be willing to share them.