Laura Bradford | When Research Becomes "What If?"

So often, in my writing, the world in which my characters live is simply in my head—a place I get to visit each time I sit down to write the next story. During those “visits,” I get to play catch up with various characters in much the same way one catches up with an old friend. At the end of the day, though, I’m back in my real world.

With my Amish Mysteries and the research those books entail, the “visit” takes on a completely different feel. Yes, the characters I’ve created are in my head. Yes, I feel as if I know them every bit as much as the characters in my Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries. But there’s something about going to the geographical area in which my books are set that takes the “visit” feel to a completely different level.

Suddenly, instead of simply imagining Amish people in the fields as my protagonist, Claire Weatherly, drives by…I see Amish people in the fields. Instead of imaging a conversation between Claire and her Amish friend, Esther, I can actually stand in an Amish-owned shop and witness the interaction between the English and the Amish. And if I have a question about how something is done in the Amish community, I can ask an Amish person…or someone who spends their days talking to/about them.

So I guess it’s really no surprise that my once (or sometimes twice) a year field trip to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania has become something really special for me. Not only am I learning more, and asking more, but the line between my fictional world and the real world doesn’t just start at the keyboard, any longer. They’ve melded into each other and I like that. I like going on a tour of an Amish home or business and imagining my characters moving about that particular farm or field or shop. I like sampling Shoo Fly Pie served by an Amish woman and wondering if the recipe is similar to the one Ruth Miller (another character in my book) might use…

By the time my trip is over and I head back home to write, I feel as if I’m returning from a vacation with photos and anecdotes to share with family and friends. Only instead of an album full of pictures to show, I have a story that’s itching to be written—a story that developed in my head while walking across an Amish field, browsing through an Amish-owned gift shop, or visiting with an Amish family and swapping tidbits about our lives.

Of course, being a mystery, those quiet moments that demand to be written take on a different feel the moment I start playing the “what if” game with them.

What if a body was found in that cornfield…

What if someone was threatened by a particular Amish business owner…

Or, in the case of SUSPENDERED SENTENCE (my latest release), what if an Amish teenager disappeared during her Rumspringa?

Suddenly, that “what if” turns into this:

Nineteen years ago, Sadie Lehman simply up and disappeared during her Rumspringa in the Amish community of Heavenly, Pennsylvania. Led to believe her daughter had gotten caught up in the English world by the girl’s peers, Waneta clung to hope that one day Sadie would come back.

Yet while Waneta prayed for a reunion, Sadie’s friends hoped for something very different—that Sadie’s body would never be discovered.

And thus a story is born.

About Laura Bradford

Laura Bradford is the national bestselling author of the Amish Mysteries. The fourth book in the series, SUSPENDERED SENTENCE, just released. You can learn more about Laura and her books by visiting her website. Laura is also on Facebook, and occasionally tweets @bradfordauthor.