No-one wants to read a novel full of facts and figures, but equally we don’t need writing that’s so bereft of description and interesting tid-bits we get no sense of where we are and what’s going on in the story.
For romance this is always a careful balance, and what I’m playing with right now is a novella set in Scarlet Bay – to follow Summer Sparks, Summer Secrets, and Summer Spice.
First, I needed to know more about Antarctica because that’s where my hero, Mack, has been working. The northern arctic region includes pieces of Canada, Russia, and Scandinavia. Animals there can wander in and out as the seasons change. But not so Antarctica – it’s totally surrounded by sea, so anything coming to check out the southern polar region has to be able to swim or fly. No polar bears or caribou. Lots of penguins and seals.
And how do the research scientists survive there? In this case, in the green buildings of Scott Base. I can now tell you so much about Scott Base I could bore you silly. Did you know they separate out all the human waste and bring the solid stuff back to New Zealand to avoid contaminating the ice-shelf? (Euw! No – of course I won’t be including this, but what dedication.)
What did Mack do there? How did he get home to take part in this story? It only takes a sentence or two, but the facts need to check out.
