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Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

IWSG Day: Researching Stories

November 5, 2019 By Jessica Ferguson 12 Comments

If it’s Wednesday, then it’s IWSG Day! I’ve missed a month or two, but I’m back. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh.  You can follow other IWSG members here or on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG. We also have a Facebook page.  The purpose of IWSG is to share and encourage, and answer any questions new writers might have. Remember, there’s no such thing as a dumb question.

 Our awesome co-hosts for this posting of the IWSG are Sadira Stone,Patricia Josephine,Lisa Buie-Collard,Erika Beebe,and C. Lee McKenzie!

 Our interesting optional question this month is: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching a story?

A few years back, I was offered an opportunity to write a novella for Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll series published by The Wild Rose Press. My characters popped into my mind immediately. One character was so incredibly evil he surprised me. I had to research his kind of evil. I needed to find some way he would mark his family and I did. He branded them. To my surprise, people really brand each other and themselves. I’m not talking about tattoos. I mean like cowboys brand their cattle. I tip-toed in to communities where they discussed it and told what they used: keys, cookie cutters, wire, anything decorative that they could heat, sear and mark the skin. When I say I “tip-toed” in to these sites, I mean I peeked with one eye closed because I’m pretty queasy when it comes to any kind of pain and torture.

My book was called The Last Daughter and it’s a story very close to my heart. It’s about love and evil, and sincere, heartbreaking forgiveness. It’s out of print now and “waiting” for revision so I can republish under my own imprint. I hope in early 2020.IMG_9314.PNG

Today, I’m excited to announce my latest release called Christmas In Love. No evil here. Just love sweet love. I’ve coupled two of my previously published short stories with a brand new story that I’m pretty proud of. Take a look at my cover. Isn’t that hero yummy? I thank the multi-talented Heather K. Duff for finding him, designing the cover and formatting the book.

If you give Christmas In Love a try, I hope you’ll leave a review—good or bad. But, hey … if you leave a bad review, at least tell me why or what you didn’t like about Christmas in Love. It might be something I can fix.

I hope you’re all doing well, writing up a storm on NaNoWrMo, and that you have a very blessed Thanksgiving. See you in December!

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Filed Under: IWSG Tagged With: characters, Christmas In Love, IWSG, research, The Last Daughter

Comments

  1. L. Diane Wolfe says

    November 6, 2019 at 6:18 am

    Cookie cutters makes sense although I’m not into pain and torture either.

    Christmas in Love sounds wonderful. Congrats, Jess.

    Reply
    • Jessica Ferguson says

      November 6, 2019 at 6:47 pm

      Thanks Diane. My first venture into the world of Indie. 😳

      Reply
  2. Erika Beebe says

    November 6, 2019 at 1:34 pm

    Welcome back Jessica. What a sweet new release. Christmas love always makes me nostalgic. Happy IWSG Day 🙂

    Reply
    • Jessica Ferguson says

      November 6, 2019 at 6:46 pm

      Thanks Erika! I’m getting in the Christmas spirit. 🎄

      Reply
  3. Debbie Johansson says

    November 6, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    I don’t like the sound of that branding. The internet certainly opens our eyes to a whole new world out there. Congratulations on your new release!

    Reply
    • Jessica Ferguson says

      November 6, 2019 at 6:44 pm

      Sounds painful, doesn’t it? Who thinks up that stuff? 😱

      Reply
  4. Shannon Lawrence says

    November 7, 2019 at 1:51 am

    Ooooh, I feel like that little bit of information could come in handy for a future story. Thanks for sharing! Congratulations on your most recent release!

    Reply
    • Jessica Ferguson says

      November 7, 2019 at 10:31 am

      Thanks Shannon. I think you could get a lot of stories out of that. It’s amazing what people have used to brand themselves. Of course sometimes they hVe to deal with infection.

      Reply
  5. Damyanti Biswas says

    November 7, 2019 at 10:16 am

    Congratulations on your new book & Good Luck Jessica! I am adding it to my TBR.

    Reply
    • Jessica Ferguson says

      November 7, 2019 at 10:29 am

      Thank you so much! That’s so sweet of you. I hope you enjoy the stories. ❤️

      Reply
  6. Juneta Key says

    November 7, 2019 at 9:42 pm

    Congrats on new book. People are crazy and weird. Finding stuff like that scares me about people, lol, so try not to think about it. Happy Belated IWSG!

    Reply
  7. Jessica says

    November 7, 2019 at 10:24 pm

    Hi Juneta, I understand because knowing people do such things scares me too. How painful!
    Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

    Reply

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