Castrating Calves

In her research for realism in her current book in which the hero is a rancher, Fiorella has learned far more about cattle than she ever wanted to know.  Did you know that there are three general methods of castrating the little bulls--knives, bands, and squeezers?

It's usually done when the calves are five to ten weeks old and not only improves the meat, but insures that only the best bulls breed.

Put that information in your factoid file.



T

Literary Research

Fiorella will tell you that the reason she writes contemporary romances is because she doesn't want to bother with research, but don't believe her.  She might not have to research petticoats and bloomers, but she does have to learn about such things as the places her characters live, what they do for a living, what cars are  appropriate for them, and their supposed backgrounds and life experiences.

For Where the Heart Leads, which will come out on November 11, Fio peppered five rancher friends with endless lists  of questions about life among the cows.  She also consulted an architect, a nurse, a firearms expert, two friends with Master's degrees in theater,  a high school principal, a foodie, an expert on Britishisms, a fire builder, and a wine expert.

And tomorrow, for Phillipa's unnamed novella, she's going to sally forth and visit a place that sells landscaping materials, drop by Dairy Queen to check out how a Blizzard and a small ice cream cone would be eaten, and stop at Walgreens to pick up a home pregnancy test.

Don't ask.

Power Play

Fio has conquered the office bitch, the one who delayed her appointments and blamed it on the insurance carrier.  And Fio did it through the use of the greatest power in the world--knowledge.

Fio didn't argue with the woman.  Instead, Fio side-stepped her and called the insurance company herself.  She called twice, in fact, to confirm that her treatment was authorized and that the insurance would pay for it.  But when she contacted the OB, the woman told her she would have to wait an extra week for the treatment to allow ninety days to pass since her last visit.  Fio got out her calendar and realized that those ninety days would indeed have passed by the date of the appointment she was trying to set.

Fiorella got her appointment when she wanted it.

Knowledge is power.

Theatrical Triumph

Fiorella was a spy last night.  She'd sent a nice letter to Georgetown's Palace Theater several weeks ago explaining that she wanted to give it a plug in the book she is currently writing, but needed to set up a a one-hour tour for accuracy.

No reply.  Fio bitched.

Friend Suzy told her that there was a cast party backstage every opening night which the audience could attend so Fio showed up at Shrek's debut last night. She started taking notes the second she passed through the door.  During intermission she walked up to the balcony and found the light booth.  After the show she followed the cast up the steps onto the stage and out the back door to the auxiliary building where she peered into restrooms, dressing rooms, storerooms, and the green room.
She asked questions about the construction of the stage.

Then she packed up and drove home.

Hah!  Fio thwarted you, Palace Theater!  And don't think she's going to give you a shout-out in her book either! Besides, Shrek sucked!

Sources

When Fiorella was in college--lo, these many years ago--she researched her learned papers by consulting library tomes.  Now that Fiorella is writing novels, she researches by consulting her friends.  For her current work, she consulted Joan Barton, Carol Fox, Gary Wofford, and Michelle Wyckoff about ranches and cattle.  For horsemanship, she turned to Joan again and to Husband.  Judy Scott and Carrie Nelson were her civic theater experts. Paula Marks knows everything there is to know about the history of the American West.  

First hand beats the flinders out of library tomes.

Liars, Case #4

JJ entered Fiorella's life through a friend who had hired hm as her business manager and suggested Fio do the same.  Friend liked JJ because he had talked to her over her kitchen table and he was always available when she called.  To Fio, that suggested he was trolling for clients and he didn't have enough current business to occupy him.

But when JJ telephoned Fio one Friday morning, she understood his lure.  He was charming, sounded totally sincere, and  told Fio what she wanted to hear. But calling her three times in four days (he skipped Sunday) was an overkill which put her off.  Besides, she'd checked with a common business contact and learned that JJ had totally misrepresented a transaction that went south, and, researching the internet and through a local lawyer friend, she discovered that JJ had at least three failed similar business ventures, the current one seemed to be going down, and he was starting a new one.  JJ was a high-flyer, but so far all he seemed to have accumulated was a cease-and-desist order and several lawsuits for fraud.

Fio sent photocopies of the information to Friend, but Fio suspects she's still loyal to JJ.  Fio understands--he tells her what she wants to hear.