Allison Brennan: June 2010 Archives

I love research.

I think this love of research stems from my tendency to procrastinate. In school, I was really good at cramming at the last minute--back then, it was hitting the library the day before a major paper was due, reading everything I could on the subject, then writing all night. The last-minute projects inevitably garnered me a B+ or A- (which, had I spent more time researching, editing, and revising would have been an A--but we work we our natural talents, right?)

Last week I finished writing one book; this week I started the next. I realized real quick that my knowledge of modern private investigators was slim, and the books on my shelf were woefully outdated. The book I have on Missing Persons was printed in 1993--before Facebook, before MySpace, and before Google. Needless to say, useless.

I emailed a P.I. friend of mine asking for two books she'd recommend on modern P.I. techniques, and wondered if there was a P.I. ride-along program . . .

We are truly blessed writers to have so many resources at our fingertips. In the past twelve months, I've participated in two SWAT training exercises, toured the FBI Academy at Quantico, visited FBI Headquarters in D.C., toured Folsom State Prison (with fellow ITW author James Rollins), and took a second trip to the Sacramento County Morgue to learn how they preserve evidence. If you really twist my arm, I'll admit being a non-ambulatory victim during SWAT training was probably the most fun I've had in a long, long time . . . which shows you what a boring life I lead!