Gone by Nightfall
Dee Garretson
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: January 21st 2020
Genres: Historical, Young Adult
Blurb:
A young woman is torn between her home and her dreams during the Russian Revolution.
It’s 1916, and Charlotte Mason is determined to make a life for herself in czarist Russia. When her mother dies, Charlotte is forced to put her plans to go to medical school aside to care for her unruly siblings. Then a handsome new tutor arrives. Charlotte has high hopes that he’ll stay, freeing her up to follow her dreams of becoming a doctor. But there’s more to Dmitri that meets the eye.
Just when she thinks she can get her life back, Russia descends into revolution and chaos. Now, not only does Charlotte need to leave Russia, she needs to get her siblings out too–and fast.
Can Charlotte flee Russia, keep her siblings safe, and uncover Dmitri’s many secrets before she runs out of time?
Research involved for Gone by Nightfall
I love researching for my stories and often have to force myself to stop so I can actually write something.
I have a five step process. First, I read some overview histories of the time period and then I move to reading memoirs of people who lived during that time. The memoirs are amazing because they help me with the day-to-day details of life during the time period. I’m so thankful that so many people kept journals or wrote long letters about their lives.
Once I narrow down the story, I focus my reading and research on the events directly affecting the story, and sometimes that can redirect the plot a little. I often find out about lesser known events and try to then incorporate them.
After I have the plot and the settings down, I love to research the little details that make the story seem real, like what people would have in their houses, what they ate, how they dressed, all those things that make historical fiction come alive. My family benefits or has to suffer through my research too, either listening to little details they aren’t really interested in, or tasting the food I make from recipes that fit the time period. Cooking from those recipes helps me get into the mood of the time, and it’s also a fun way to keep from being overwhelmed by all the material.
Last, I look at images of the time period and settings, in photographs in books, drawings and paintings and old postcards. Another way to get really distracted! I’m a visual person, though, so I need images to help me describe settings.
All of it is fun though, like going on a treasure hunt where you aren’t quite sure what you are looking for.
Thank you!
Author Bio:
Dee Garretson spent her childhood helping her father build his offbeat inventions and playing adventure games in the woods. After working as a landscape designer and teaching landscape horticulture classes for several years, Dee returned to writing. Her debut novel, Wildfire Run, has been praised for its suspense and its hero, Luke, who “with his companions, displays generous measures of courage and ingenuity in rising to the occasion” (ALA Booklist). She lives with her family in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Thanks for sharing! :)
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