Hubby and I traveled to the Mackinac Bridge this weekend. It's something we've seen lots of times before, but I found that as I reached the closing scenes of the second Dead Detective Mystery, I needed to look at the bridge with a new purpose. The book is already past the date that I gave my editor for submission, but I needed to answer some specific questions: can a person get from the water onto the bridge, would the bridge workers be aware of a pedestrian, and could she get up onto the bridge structure from the deck. We examined the south end of the bridge carefully, taking notes from directly underneath, in the visitors' center, and from each side. We discussed how a climb could be made from the ground to the bridge deck. Then we drove across the bridge, as slowly as possible, much to the chagrin of others on the bridge. (There's no stopping, so we had to do what we could.) Now I'm guessing Homeland Security was aware of us by this time, but they probably concluded we were just another loony older couple, not a real threat.

 I also needed to look at boats, so hubby took me to a marina when we got into the Upper Peninsula. Now we owned several boats in the past, but I was not really paying attention back then. I listened carefully as he told me the parts of several different boats, how the parts work, what they're used for, etc. As we talked, a man came along, looking at us rather oddly, and got onto the boat we were discussing. My clipboard and note-taking clearly made him nervous, so I explained what we were up to. His face lit like a candle, and he gladly told us all sorts of details. Later, we heard him telling other boaters that his vessel was going to be featured in a new mystery novel, DEAD FOR THE MONEY.

Research complete, we enjoyed our weekend in the U.P., wandering around Sault Ste. Marie as we talked over plot points and solved little knot-lets. Hubby seemed happy to be able to help, and I returned home with a new enthusiasm, ready to add details that will make the story resonate with readers. I've already decided, however, that my next book will be set in Alaska, Italy, or maybe Australia. Somewhere I've always wanted to visit.

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