Graphic designed by Jodi Abbot (featuring Eagle Harbor Lighthouse)
This month I’m celebrating the release of my third lighthouse book, UNDAUNTED HOPE! While UNDAUNTED HOPE is connected to the first two books in the series, it’s also very easy to read as a stand-alone novel (at least that’s what readers who haven’t read any of the other books are telling me!).
I’m super excited about this particular book because when I was in the process of writing it, I was able to go to the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, the setting of the book, and do hands on research.
Where is Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, you might be asking? Well, it’s in the FAR northern part of Michigan in the Keweenau Peninsula. Here’s a map to show you:
The outline in blue is the Keweenau Peninsula (part of Michigan). The arrow is pointing to approximately where Eagle Harbor is located on the peninsula.
Not only did I get to go on location, but I actually got to stay for an entire week in the assistant keeper’s cottage which is next door to the lighthouse.
Assistant Keeper’s Cottage next to the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse
The front porch of the assistant keeper’s cottage overlooked Eagle Harbor and Lake Superior. I could look out the front windows and see the waves pounding the stony ledge and hear their crashing. I loved drinking my coffee while I sat in the porch swing and watched the beauty of the lake.
One of the sunsets we witnessed on Lake Superior (at 10 pm!)
I was able to visit the lighthouse next door as many times as I wanted, which was fascinating for a historical buff like me. While Eagle Harbor used to be a thriving port town, it’s now sparsely populated with only a handful of year-round residents who dare to brave the harsh winters.
Eagle Harbor Lighthouse next door to the assistant keeper’s cottage
While there I tried to imagine what the town used to look like. The old schoolhouse still remains and is inspiration for the one in UNDAUNTED HOPE. The cemetery is original too with headstones dating back to the 1800’s.
Old schoolhouse in Eagle Harbor
Pine Grove Cemetery in Eagle Harbor
One of the headstones in the cemetery. Notice how specifically they marked the age of death! (2 years 3 months)
I also traveled around the rest of the Keweenau Peninsula, visiting old mining ghost towns. I was even able to climb down into an abandoned mine and explore one of the shafts. I was fascinated to think about how busy the area used to be when copper mining was at its peak.
I took this picture from inside a mine looking back up at the opening.
The trip was incredible, even if it was slightly colder than I expected for the end of June. (I was prepared for summer weather and had to wear a jacket most of the week!) I learned SO much about the area including the terrain, flora, fauna, climate, and more.
Eagle Harbor Lighthouse
So that brings up the question, is my book better as a result of doing such in depth research? Or could I have achieved the same results without having visited the location of the book?
If I were to hand readers two of my books and ask them to figure out which one I researched while on location and which one I researched from the comfort of my home, would they be able to tell the difference?
Probably not.
The truth is writers can make a story authentic without ever having to step a foot in the setting of their book. The advantage of on-location research is that it makes the job of authenticating easier. However, when I’m not able to visit the locations of my books (like The Doctor’s Lady which involves a young couple crossing the entire length of the country on a journey to Oregon), I can still very believably write about the setting.
How can someone write realistically about a place(s) they’ve never been?
There are many ways, including the internet which has become more detailed in recent years. For example if I want to know what South Pass looks like, I can find hundreds of pictures, YouTube videos, and descriptions online.
While online information is truly invaluable for a writer (especially for setting details), I’ve found that firsthand accounts are even better. I love when I’m able to find an original resource (like diaries, letters, newspaper articles, etc.).
So while my trip to Eagle Harbor was incredibly helpful, discovering the diary of a school teacher who taught in one of the little mining towns in the area was even MORE helpful. I had an eyewitness account describing to me the conditions in winter, the bed bugs he experienced, the giblets he ate, and so much more. I was able to pull out many of his experiences and let my heroine live them.
Since much about the area has changed in the last hundred years, reading the diary actually gave me a more accurate account of what things were like during the 1870’s in the Keweenau Peninsula.
I want to offer a word of encouragement for writers who can’t travel (perhaps due to budget or time constraints, life stage, etc.). You can still have a writing career. Your books don’t have to be second-rate. With effort and digging, you can write an authentic, detailed, and accurate book. (I know this from personal experience!)
Needless to say, I love when I can visit the places that I’m writing about. It’s always a really fun thing to do, one of the perks of being an author!
If you’d like a chance to WIN a copy of UNDAUNTED HOPE (and to vicariously take a trip to all the places pictured in this post!), then stop by my website and enter my giveaway! GO HERE!
What about YOU? Writers, how much research do you do on location? And readers, have you ever been inspired to visit a place after reading about it? Tell us where (even if you haven’t yet visited the location!). 🙂
Jody Hedlund
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Enjoyed reading this so much, Jody!
Thank you, Karen! 🙂
I loved post this, Jody……especially ’cause I am reading Undaunted Hope right now and your pictures give me an idea of how the area looks. I love the book and will be posting a review soon! Health issues prevent me from travels, but can travel through books!!!
Please continue writing…..your books are my favorites.
Hi Jackie! Oh that’s so awesome that you’re reading the book right now and that the pictures could help you visualize the story a little bit more! Thank you for the very kind words! Blessings!
Awesome post! Love reading about writers and their research trips, actual or virtual!
Thanks
Hi Annie! I always find it fascinating to read about other author’s research trips too!
Loved all your pictures, Jodi! It’s such a rare treat to visit a place who’s history has been so well preserved. Even if we can visit the location where our book is set, it has often changed so much over time that it is hard to know what is still authentic to the time period of our story.
I have to admit that most of my research has come from the Internet and historical accounts. I love reading newspaper or journal articles from the time period to hear the language used and immerse myself in the time period.
There was one time when I was writing my second book that I happened to be on a trip that would take me within 50 miles of my chosen area. I took the time to take a side trip and travel down an old Farm & Market road to where I imagined my sheep ranch to be. I pulled over my car, got out to view the lay of the land and take some pictures, then I saw something that made my heart thrill. Sheep!!! There were actually sheep right where I imagined my sheep ranch to have been over 100 years ago. I took that as a sign that I was on the right track with my story. 🙂
I agree, Karen! It’s so hard to tell what a setting was REALLY like back in history. I went on location to research for Rebellious Heart, my story inspired by John and Abigail Adams. I was sorely disappointed to find that the Adam’s old house is smack dab in the middle of a VERY busy intersection in a VERY busy town! Not at all the farmhouse I was expecting. Needless to say, I didn’t get a sense of setting from that trip! I had to rely up his letters and other original sources from that time period.
Great pictures, Jodi.I love visiting my settings whenever I can. I think it helps me dig deeper into the story even if readers can’t tell the difference.
I hear you, Lynn! A research trip may not always give me the details that I need. But I always come away inspired! 🙂
I love the research part of this job! When I can, I thoroughly enjoy visiting a setting. There’s something so inspiring about encountering a place in real life and yes, it does make writing about that place in an authentic way easier. That said, I agree that a writer doesn’t need to have traveled to a location to write about it in accurate detail.
Even after I’ve been to a location and even though I write modern-day stories, I still end up doing a lot of reading on the places, subjects, and professions I touch on in my books. Like you, Jody, I find first person accounts invaluable. For example, when I was writing about a hero who was a horse trainer, I read books written by horse trainers and visited the track so that I could chat with a horse trainer about his work. It was so helpful!
Hi Becky,
Yes, even when I’m on location, I always have to dig deeper into books, biographies, etc. to get the smaller details for things that really help bring a story to life.
But I imagine as a modern writing it’s very helpful to talk to a professional (like a horse trainer) in person. I’m sure they’re full of information! Perhaps you even glean tidbits (or plot ideas) that you wouldn’t find in an article?
There are many places I’ve read about that I would like to visit but have not done so. I have been to the Keweenau Peninsula and it’s just beautiful there. I’ve seen several of the places that you referenced in your article.
The Keweenau IS beautiful! We did a lot of hiking while we were there along the lake. Lots of great trails! We tried to swim in Lake Superior, but even at the end of June the water was frigid!
Look at all those pictures!! I love Michigan. Would love to sit on that swing, sipping coffee and looking out over the beautiful lake. 🙂
This post was a relief for me. I’m brainstorming a new series, and I’m not able to take a research trip at this time. It’s been weighing on me–I want my details right! Thanks for easing my mind. 🙂
Hi Jill! Oh, there’s no place in the world quite like Michigan! 🙂 (No, I’m not biased in the least! 😉 )
Glad I could ease your mind on the research conundrum! I love to go on location, but it’s just not always possible. So glad for the virtual world that at least makes it possible to visit via pictures and YouTube!
Yes I have! Visited Savannah,GA after reading about it in a book Want to visit England and Ireland after reading about places there
I enjoyed this book so much! Reading about the bedbugs and lice made me start itching. And the giblets, yuck! So realistic.
Reading another book of yours made me want to visit Macinaw Island. And I hope to someday.
Jody, being on your launch team, I’ve already read & reviewed “Undaunted Hope. But I sure enjoyed seeing all the pictures of the various places that inspired the book. I could better envision the copper mine, I’d surely feel claustrophobic!! And can imagine how one would get so dirty after a long shift (red dust). I think for as a reader, it makes the story more realistic if an author is able to visit the places they use in their book research. They can better feel, visualize & experience what it would be like to live there. Like you said, sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee and overlooking the lake & Eagle Harbor. And then incorporate those emotions into your characters. What a thrill that must have been for you 🙂
Thanks for sharing, Jody! You made me want to visit one day just by those pretty pictures, I can imagine myself sitting on that very porch 🙂
Oops, that’s suppose to read “I think for me as a reader”, I left out the word “me”….lol!!
Michigan… I was so inspired by this series and by a friend who’s photos caught the beauty of the area from his Michigan vacation along the lake. I would like to take my pop up camper & just wander! ps I enjoyed reading this post 🙂