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My Journey as an Author: Research

10/26/2014

1 Comment

 
When I decided to write The Great Camel Experiment of the Old West, I knew it would take an enormous amount of research to get it right. Not only was I concerned about the event itself, but I needed to understand the politics behind it, how the camels were imported and from where, how they were cared for, and what kind of reception they received when they arrived. 

I started like most beginners at the library. I searched the catalogs for books the event itself, and found several books written on the subject. I ordered every one listed in WorldCat.org from libraries across the United States. Then I read them. By the time I was done, I knew my first step was to access the camel files from the U. S. National Archives.

Once I read through the Congressional Records of the 1853 decision to import camels for use by the military in the Southwest, I had a list of over 50 possible resources I needed to access.  Since I wasn't sure what information I would use, I checked every one of them. Some articles, newspaper accounts, and personal diaries were in government collections. Others were held by historical societies. I wrote letters, collected historical maps, downloaded pictures of the terrain the camels traveled through, joined Jstor  (www.jstor.org/
) and Newspaper Archives (www.newspaperarchives.com), sought out every biography of the people involved, and contacted Texas Camel Corps to check my accuracy. I even spent the day with a camel so that I could conceptualize some of the diary entries.

In all my research took several months and hundreds of hours. The result was a clear, condensed, historical account of the importation of camels for military use in 1856 in the form of my book, The Great Camel Experiment of the Old West. 










1 Comment
Dan link
10/29/2014 03:32:53 am

Well I just spent a half hour writing you a comment and it disappeared - boy I get tired of that happening. This comment probably won't be nearly as good despite the idea that practice makes perfect. Something to do with frustration.
Anyways, very impressed with your journey writing The Great Camel Experiment and all the research. I write fiction and so have done a limited amount, however I soon will be on book number four and visiting the old west and will have to apply some research to the project.
I would love to review the camels and perhaps if you check out my novel A Lesson in Revenge, you might return the favor if you find it to your taste.
Until Sunday Nov 1/14 I am offering an electronic version for free from Smashwords. Trading electronic versions seems the most economical and convenient way to exchange. I will post my review of your book on Book Blogs, amazon and goodreads as well as feature it on my blog on my website. Hopefully you will consider doing the same.I don't have a ton of followers - heck I may not have any, but it is a start for me.
CLICK ON THE SMASHWORDS LINK BELOW AND USE THE COUPON CODE - VN88G TO GET A FREE COPY.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/299982

you may have to copy and paste it in your browser cause it doesn't seem too linkable right now. Sorry.

Hopefully you will drop by my website: www.danielside.com. you have some very interesting articles and I am trying to do the same - as well as tell my writing journey - to show the rest of the newbie's they are not alone with their struggle.
Have a great day - regards - Dan

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    Sherry Alexander

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