They joys of research

"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please." ~ Mark Twain

I'm in research mode. My WIP is insisting on being written as a category of erotic romance I hadn't intended to write. Ever. And while it's a category I happen to enjoy reading - very, very thoroughly I might add - I wanted to know as much as I could about the reality before I dove into writing the fantasy.

What an eye opening experience it has been.

See... writing Ink Lust was easy. I have tattoos--five of them and and a sixth work in progress to be exact. I've had tattoo artist friends. I even dated a tattoo artist for a couple of years. (Let me be perfectly clear that he is NOT the model for Jamie, my hero in IL!!! shivers) I knew the ins and outs, both 'behind the scenes' and what it was like to go under the needle.

During my research for this new story I have come across things that make me giggle. I have gasped in shock. I've said "whatthe...!?!!" out loud several times, and I've caught myself thinking "hmm, that might be interesting..." ahem, several times. I have notes that would certainly make my kids look at me strangely should they ever get their hands on that notebook.

BTW - my philosophy on that has always been "look at your own risk" whenever they've gone snooping, as kids will do, throughout the years.

The thing is, going into writing the meat of this book, I feel like I have a firm grasp on the subject now that I've done the research. And I'm completely comfortable twisting it into whatever shape I want for my story.

Writer friends: Do you enjoy the research aspect of writing? Do you tend to write what you know, or do you like to sail into uncharted waters whenever you can?