My home away from home is the library. I’m usually there two or three times a week. In the spring, the smell of fertilizer could knock a buzzard off an outhouse at fifty paces. But when the roses are in bloom, the scent is intoxicating.

Kind of like research. There’s a lot of misery involved but it pays off in the long run.

I have come to recognize these accidental discoveries as quirky gifts from my muse.

I love going to the library. After exchanging a wave and a smile with whoever is at the desk, my first stop is almost always the book return, then the recorded books area because I keep one going in my van. I don’t have time to read with my eyes, have to do it with my ears. (Except for books on writing, or research material. The exception to the exception – has anyone listened to Stephen King read his own book, On Writing? It’s fun.)

Second stop is the “new books” shelf. I check for any how-to books on writing, or biographies.

Then, the second floor. Non fiction. By the time I’ve climbed the two short flights, I’m scratching like I have fleas. Research. Just typing the word makes me break out in a rash. I take comfort in knowing I’m not alone.

Fortunately, while finding and actually reading books that will teach me what I have to know in order to write what I want to write, I have stumbled across some interesting and sometimes wonderful books.

While searching for a book on writing a synopsis (excuse my language) I found a book on the stupidest things ever said. Hilarious.

On another occasion, I was looking for books on guns. I located the book, drug it off the shelf, turned to jump off the stool and found myself looking at books on cops. Nice coincidence. One of my main characters is a Sheriff. I needed to know the difference in being a city cop and a deputy sheriff.

Now the weird one. A couple of shelves beneath the law enforcement books, the words “herbal remedies” jumped out at me. One of the gals in my critique group has a character who heals with herbs. The People’s Pharmacy Guide To Home and Herbal Remedies. Had to grab it for my critique partner.

The last gift the muse bestowed upon me – today, as a matter of fact – was across the aisle from where I had been loitering, studying Leonard Maltin’s Movie and Video Guide. We writers are supposed to be able to describe our story in one sentence. Maltin’s yearly guides are a great place to see how it’s done. I’m not sure if I should be ashamed that it took me two years to come up with a single sentence to describe my first novel, or proud that it took me only two years to come up with that little jewel.

Anyway, across the aisle from Leonard, the word make-up caught my eye. The book was Make-up Artist’s Handbook for Stage, Screen, and Video. I was astonished. My series character occasionally uses disguises. With this book I can move beyond just wigs and clothing to change his appearance.

I have come to recognize these accidental discoveries as quirky gifts from my muse. And I believe the first one came years ago, long before I even knew I had a muse. I had embarked on the task of planning a vacation to the Smoky Mountains, was scanning travel books and noticed there were several copies of Foxfire on a bottom shelf. As in the Clint Eastwood movie? What kind of idiot would put a novel on the second floor?

Wait...maybe Eastwood’s movie was Firefox.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed there were issue numbers on the Foxfire books. The highest was Foxfire 9. I searched for Foxfire 1, discovered the title to be The Foxfire Book. It’s a relatively thick, hardcover book with a close-up picture of the corner of a log cabin on the cover. (Interesting how those logs fit together so snugly. I had always wondered how they did that.)

Anyway, on the right side of the book cover, there is a list, and I quote: “Hog Dressing. Log Cabin Building. Mountain Crafts and Foods. Planting by the Signs. Snake Lore. Hunting Tales. Faith Healing. Moonshining. ...and other affairs of plain living.”

I read the inside flaps and was fascinated. In 1966, English teacher Eliot Wigginton took a job at the 240-pupil Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School teaching English and Geography. (Rabun Gap is in the Appalachian mountains.)

To make a long story short, Wigginton, had the students interview the senior citizens, then write about the experience. The purpose was two-fold: teach the kids English, and preserve some of our American heritage, a way of life that was slipping away as the elders died off.

The collected articles became a magazine titled Foxfire. (Foxfire is a tiny organism that glows in the dark and is often found in the shaded coves of the Appalachians.) The Foxfire books are a collection of articles from the magazines, many of which contain pictures and actual instruction on such things as how to build a log cabin, make lye soap, and dress a hog.

When our newsletter editor asked for articles that had to do with research, I thought, “Eewwww! It’s bad enough to have to do research, you want us to write about it, too?” It wasn’t until later that I realized the Foxfire books are research for someone writing about mountain life. Something is wrong with that. I enjoyed the Foxfire series.

Okay, so maybe all research isn’t a pain in the foondy. The Foxfire books were fun.

FYI: A magazaine of the same name was circulated throughout the states at the time the articles were being written, but I don’t know how long the circulation lasted or what became of Wigginton.

I suppose if I want to know I’ll have to...research.

Sandy Thomas is retired and lives in Dickinson, Texas with a crusty old ex-Marine and a spoiled fourteen-year-old cat. She wants to be a writer when she grows up.

Copyright © 2005 Sandy Thomas. All rights reserved. Used with permission.