So I've been neck-deep in my Steampunk novel for the past several months. Finally finished it and sent it off...which is great because I get to start blocking out Book Two in the series! Yay! I love...LOVE to do research. Its one aspect of my job that I feel keeps me from being a recluse.
Currently I'm exploring stealth weapons of the civil war. I know, right? They had submarines! Okay, they had one, the H.L. Hunley, and it boasted technology that was otherworldly for that era.
It was the first underwater craft to sink an enemy ship. But the real draw about this fascinating tale is that the submarine and its crew disappeared for almost 100 years!
Not only was there a plethora of forensic evidence that gave way to detailed models and presentations, the university informed reenactments that led to more discoveries. Who were these intrepid soldiers? What led them to such a dangerous mission? And what was their fate that dark night in the water?
This historic mystery predates my book's timeline by twenty years and allows me to extrapolate along the lines of existing technology to take my story to a whole other level.
This got me wondering about fantasy writers and high science fiction. What do you base your world on? Is there an underpinning of truth or do you paint with a purely creative brush?
I'd love to know!