I'm a Stickler for Getting Facts Straight

The main character in my upcoming novel, LEARNING TO SWIM (Shaye Areheart Books), is devouring fresh blackberry pie and I think Wait! Are blackberries in season then? and I look it up and discover that pretty much the only fruit in season in that particular town in that particular month are apples. And I'm not crazy about apple pie, so my character isn't either(I eat vicariously through my characters). So now it's just homemade blackberry pie - perhaps made from frozen blackberries, certainly not that canned goo.

Yes, I'm a stickler for getting my facts straight.

I know that no matter how careful you are, you're gonna slip up - or your readers will think you have. Part of my novel is set in Ottawa, and I had one beta reader lecture me that the RCMP would handle a specific issue and helpfully send links to all the Canadian law enforcement organizations. Hello? I talked to the Canadian police and to the RCMP. I have their confirming emails to back it up. But I'm resigned to the fact that my Canadian readers may think I'm getting it all wrong, although I clearly explain law enforcement jurisdiction.

The same beta reader told me emphatically that there could not be a discount Gap store in Lake Placid, New York, because the Gap never puts outlet stores in resort towns. Hello? I lived in Lake Placid for years - I bought plenty of clothing there - and the store is still there!

In some cases, I've learned to write around the facts instead of including them. The Ottawa police tell me that the parents would not be included in the interview of a small child. Yow! None of my American readers are going to believe that without laborious explanation, and maybe not even then. So I delete the scene of the child on the parent's lap during the interview, and let the reader fill in the blanks. Canadian readers may know the parent is not there; American readers will assume he is. They're all happy.

I look everything up: Does Stewart's still serve chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream? At what time of day would the late Lake Champlain ferries cross paths? What is the water temperature in that lake during the summer, and how deep is it? Do the locks in downtown Ottawa lower the water to get boats to the river, or raise it? Is Di-Gel available in Canada, or is there another brand? How would someone without an OHIP card get a doctor's appointment in Ontario? What flavor bagels are available at Great Canadian Bagel, and what's the closest one to the airport?

I wiggle with some facts. I alter the Lake Champlain ferry schedules slightly, and hope no one will whip out ferry schedules (which do change slightly from year to year) and go berserk. The Ontario police tell me that only one detective would interrogate someone at a time; I want two detectives in the room, so I put them there. (Maybe they made an exception that day.) I need a phone booth at or near the Port Kent ferry, so I put one there. (I don't know if there's one there or not, but will check.) Women in Québec married since 1981 are not allowed to use their husband's last name, even if they were married outside Québec (really, I'm not making this up) - but they can use it socially, so I take advantage of that loophole.

And how many steps is it from a particular house in Lake Placid to the Stewart's store up the street? The house is based on a real one, so I have a friend make the trek and count the steps.

Although I'm sure someone will think I am wrong. At least I tried.