When It Comes to #Research, #KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid by Margo Hoornstra

We’ve all done it. (In other words, please tell me I’m not alone.) Research. We have a topic to explore, and think we’re going in the right direction then

**SQUIRREL**

off we go in another.

This happened to me last week as I plotted out the suspense conflict (read good versus evil) of my latest work in progress – Book 3 in the Brothers In Blue series – On The Make.

She no longer believes in heroes or happily ever after. He’s determined to prove her wrong.

**SQUIRREL**

(Sorry. Just had to throw that in there.)

Anyway, the suspense conflict revolves around the heroine’s evil ex brother in law and the contested inheritance of a piece of valuable real estate. So off I went on a relatively uncomplicated research journey. Right?

Well, actually...

**SQUIRREL**

Rights to survivor in real estate. Titles. Deeds. Joint tenancy. Joint tenants with right of survivorship JTWROS. Sole ownership. Joint ownership. Title by contract. Per Capita – by head count. Per Stirpes – by roots. Did I mention my heroine is an attorney who specializes in real estate? A professional in her own right.

**SQUIRREL**

I need, rather she needs to know these things. Right?

Then there’s the Board of Directors she has to deal with. Right? Did I mention her husband was a real estate magnate? Oh, and that he’s recently deceased? Oh, and that, unbeknownst to her, she was more a trophy wife to him than anything else. (Maybe she needs a revenge motive.)

**SQUIRREL**

Oh, and that she’s been left with two adolescent boys to raise. Not the real estate baron’s progeny BTW. So how about she hangs on to the deed evil brother in law wants to get his hands on until she gets all her late husband's affairs in order. Or she knows what her husband WANTED to do with the property and sets out to complete his legacy. Or, how about she has no clue about any of it?

Needless to say, I bounced these ideas – volleyed is more like it – off CP extraordinaire Jannine. Which resulted in a return email that began – “I hate to toss cold water on your motive…BUT, none of it makes much sense.”

Oh, dear, that’s not what I wanted to hear. But, after more back and forth, here’s the final plot point result.

Passed through generations, the eldest child inherits the property. OR, upon the eldest child's death, a younger sibling, BARRING a direct decedent of said eldest child. So...if my heroine got pregnant before her husband died...

**SQUIRREL**

Oh, but the hero needs to be involved. (Almost forgot about him.) He’s a cop moonlighting as a super hero in a movie being filmed on location at the property in question – rather contention. She meets him through one of her boys. But, now there needs to be a secret baby/accidental pregnancy tossed into the mix. Of course with said hero involved or where's the 'romance that can never be?' Oh, no, that calls for a one-night stand. And, danger, don’t forget the danger.

**SQUIRREL**

She discovers she’s pregnant. He, happily, believes the baby is his. It’s not, but she needs to foster that belief or suffer dire consequences at the hands of evil ex-brother in law. Who has also discovered she is pregnant. However, she’s come to love the hero. Her boys have too. He says he loves her back.

She has to deceive him. Right?

What will happen when he discovers the truth?

That was what I planned to write about for today. But…

**SQUIRREL**

Then this arrived in my e-mail box.

The cover for Book 2 in the Brothers In Blue series On The Force.

And, of course, I couldn't help but share.

What do you think? Beautiful, huh? I agree. Goes nicely, I believe,  with Book 1 in the series, On The Surface.

With due credit to TWRP Cover Artist Diana Carlile.

Can't wait to see what she does with the cover for On The Make.

Which I need to get back to. And, now that we've come full circle...you guessed it...

**SQUIRREL**

My days to blog here are the 11^th and 23^rd. For more about me and the stories I write, please visit my Website

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Clothing your characters and other #amwriting guilty pleasures ~ by Leah St. James

A week or so ago, Betsy wrote about the “box” of character traits she creates for each of her characters, details that may never make it into a story – like what a woman would put into her purse – but that enrich each character’s persona.

I don’t go to the level of detail Betsy does (although maybe I should!), but I do create visual storyboards for settings and each main character—the clothing they’d wear, their day-to-day environments and anything visual I might have need to describe. Even if I don’t use  these images in the story, they stick in my head, and they usually help in choosing the right words to describe the character’s emotions or actions.

These visuals are especially important when I’m writing about a character that’s far from my personal reality—like rich people. :-)

I like writing about rich people. But not just any old rich people. Old rich. Filthy rich, as my mother used to say...which makes me speculate where the adjective came from.

I like reading about rich people, too. It’s one form of escapism, I suppose, without the headaches of having to manage massive investment portfolios or worry about threats of kidnapping or people stealing from me, or befriending me for the wads of cash in my piggy bank.

With the resources available via a quick Google search, outfitting the fictional rich is easy, and probably much more fun than real-life shopping (or so I tell myself).

For housing, I laze my way through magazines like Coastal Living or Southern Living – wherever the character is from. Or Pinterest, of course. I create my dream kitchen or garden for that particular story, or whatever setting a scene calls for. 

For example, in my current WIP, I have a scene where the heroine, her mother and sister are having a girls’ night out to watch movies. Since they’re not just rich, but rule-the-world rich, I searched for theater-style seating for the home, added a bar and mini kitchen (so, you know, they don’t have to travel all the way to the kitchen for food), and gave the room luxurious accessories, like cashmere throws to cuddle in.

Here’s an image on my Pinterest storyboard of seating available from homeportfolio.com. I used the general layout but made the seating more plush with brighter fabrics. (It's not like we have to worry about cleaning after all!)

For my heroine's family home, I'm using the manor house at the real Westover Plantation on the James River in Virginia, which is also the general setting for my story. Here's an image of their entry gate. (In my story, concealed security cameras help to guard the family from evil-minded interlopers.)

(An aside for you history buffs: The real plantation’s manor house was thought to be built by William Byrd, III, whose father, William Byrd II, founded Richmond, Virginia.)

But I digress...

To clothe my rich characters, one of my favorite sources is the J. Peterman catalog. Have you ever checked one out? It’s different. The inventory is limited and mostly consists of clothing for men and women, along with a few accessories. Each item is depicted by a hand-drawn illustration—like a designer’s sketch— instead of just a boring old photo, and each is accompanied by its own story.

Here’s an example of the “Adventurous Shirtdress” I’m coveting.

(The current sale has it priced down from $149 to a palatable $54...and free shipping! Luckily for me, my size is sold out.) 

Here’s the fun story that describes the dress:

"Wearing this, you could be standing in Nairobi, in Santa Fe, or even in midtown Manhattan and still look better than everyone else.

"You could be carrying oversized portfolios through humid streets, haggling in the Ixtapa bazaar, shepherding small children through Epcot, and still look self-possessed.

"To look like Ava, open three buttons. Or wear it entirely open, like a duster,  with a white tank and shorts. That would be an adventure...."

Even without the image, I want this dress! 

Granted, these prices don't rise to the level of what the rule-the-world rich might pay, but the lifestyle stories match. So to feed my Peterman obsession, I signed up for their newsletter, and sometimes I have to delete the emails without opening because I know I’ll be sucked into pouring over the latest sale items and their “stories,” instead of focusing on my own.  But even when I do, I tell myself it’s all in the name of research. Right?

Maybe that’s why I like writing about rich people. I like to imagine myself having the kind of resources to do whatever I want, whenever I want—without all the worry and work, of course! Writing gives me a reason to indulge in this one guilty pleasure, without any real guilt.

Don't we all have "guilty" reading pleasures? What about writing? What are yours?

 <><><><><><><><><><><>

When not researching clothing and environments for her super-rich characters, Leah writes stories of mystery and romance, good and evil and the power of love. Learn more at leahstjames.com. Check out her storyboards on Pinterest. She also occasionally posts about life and writing on Facebook.

#Binge-watching with Christine DePetrillo

I consider watching television and movies research for writing. I thought I'd share some things I've been binge-watching recently. If you haven't seen some of these, you might want to take a peek.

1. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman - An oldie, but a goody. I love period pieces that transport be to another time and place. I've always thought the character of Dr. Mike was so well done. A true testimony to the strong female spirit.

2. Anne of Green Gables - Speaking of strong female spirit, is there anyone better than Anne? I simply adore Megan Follows as well. She is such a gifted actress and I first fell in love with her as Anne.

3. Black Mirror - A Twilight Zone-esque show but with a futuristic flavor. I'll admit some of the episodes are... unsettling. Mostly because they are not stretching the truth all that much. I'd just like to hang out with the writers of this show because they must be super interesting to have the ideas they have.

4. Everything Sucks - If you love 90s alternative rock, you'll like this show. The soundtrack is admittedly better than the plot, but you'll love the characters because you can no doubt find a little piece of yourself in at least one of them. It's also a good show to keep you entertained while you're waiting for Stranger Things to come out with a new season.

5. Cheers - Just because everyone needs a place "where everybody knows your name."

6. Bitten - I like to rewatch this to get in touch with my inner werewolf. And Greyston Holt is so nice to look at.

7. Hallmark Movies - Sometimes a night just needs a little love, you know?

8. Beauty and the Beast - Disney come to life? Yeah, count me in.

What binge suggestions do you have for me?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $50 Amazon Gift eCard! Visit my website and scroll down on the home page for the details.

Toodles,
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

Enjoying Research by Betsy Ashton

If you're old enough to remember card catalogs at the library, congratulations. You're an old person, just like me. They were cool. You could flip though, looking for a single book, for example, and find a dozen more through serendipity.

Research today is so much more fun. Take yesterday as an example. I was fact checking a virus for a story. I wanted to be sure I understood how Hantavirus was transmitted. I knew it was called Navajo Flu. Whaa? What's this about Korea? It was named for a river in South Korea. I had no idea, but hey, I love Korean food, especially kimchi, the hotter the better.

Back to the Hantavirus post. Genome? blah-di-blah. Couldn't understand anything. There it was, method of transmission. Inhaled rodent feces and urine. Ya right, like I'm going to have my characters crawl around on the ground sniffing mouse droppings like powdered cocaine.

Hantavirus is carried by rodents and shrews. Shrews? You mean my mother-in-law could be a carrier. Apart from being a terrible cook, here's another reason not to visit.

Rethink Hantavirus. What's equally scary? I need something to strike fear in my protagonist's heart. What's that? Yersinia pestis? It's a Gram-negative, rod-shaped coccobacillus, a facultative anaerobic organism that can infect humans via the oriental rat flea. All I understood in that sentence was oriental rat flea. I live in Virginia. I don't think oriental rat fleas are prevalent. I read further. Plague??? What the hell! It's plague. Bubonic plague plus a couple of others. That I could work with. But, wait. That requires a nearly total rewrite of the story. Not going to happen.

Dump that. No plague. Back to Hantavirus. Found in the Southwest. Love Navajo jewelry. Went to research squash blossom necklaces. Whaa? They were influenced by Spanish pants buttons. Really. Also by buttons worn by Mexican caballeros. So, Pancho Villa? We don't need no stinking buttons, or something like that.

By now I'm so far from where I started that I'm not sure what the original question was. I was having too much fun learning all about new things. I looked at the clock. Where the heck had an hour gone? A whole hour wasted running down rabbit holes instead of stopping with snorting mouse poop.Oh well, I checked the fact. It's solid.

And now I need to figure out what kinds of poisonous snakes are in North America. See you later. 

Donna's Little Helper

The mission, should you choose to accept it: study college student behavior and report back to me.

Hi, it's Donna Michaels and that is the mission I gave my daughter’s cat Franco before we left her dorm last month. This is Jes’ junior year in college and she’s going to rush a sorority this fall/spring, depending on the ‘house’ she is interested in. 

So exciting! This works out great for me too, because I’ll be writing a book in an N/A collection with two incredible authors next spring that focuses on three sorority sisters and a mystery at their college. I can hardly wait!

Did I also mention it’ll be first person? New ground for me. I’m excited about the challenge, but need all the help I could get. So, I enlisted Franco’s services to take notes and keep up on the research for me while I make my other deadlines. 

Here are a few shots of him hard at work.

Pretending to chill while secretly recording activity in the common area

I'm not sure what he's looking for...and I'm not sure I want to know

Keeping an eye on the parking lot for any suspicious activity

Lulling them in with cuteness. They must've been on to him

Looking at things from a different perspective

I'm not sure why he's inspecting my daughter's finger. It'll be in the report

This is where he told them to get the camera out of his face, they were going to blow his cover

So, as you can see, I’m pretty sure he has a lot to tell me the next time we meet. Jes will fill me in on the rushing and all the steps involved, but Franco…he’s going to have the juicy stuff about college life in general so I get the vibe right. He’s my inside guy.

An author’s life...so exciting! We get to talk to some amazing people...and cats…to get the facts. Just imagine all the good stuff your pets could report...

Hope you have a great September.

Thanks for reading,

~Donna
www.donnamichaelsauthor.com

Researching the Story: Grandmothers, Gun Ranges & Doohickeys

Okay, picture this…a woman in her seventies sitting on the second floor balcony of her house overlooking her perfectly kempt, picturesque backyard. The backyard is divided into four sections: the vegetable garden all the way to the left next a clear blue swimming pool, a grassy lawn complete with  a long, wooden swing, and to the right what the woman likes to call her “secret garden.” Here there are birdfeeders and birdbaths surrounded by a stone path and flora in abundance—confederate jasmine, ferns, butterfly bushes, and big, poofy, blue hydrangeas even the most seasoned gardener would envy. The secret garden is shaded by large, leafy trees and invites all winged creatures to enjoy what it has to offer. It’s summer and it’s Florida so the air is warm, damp, and tepid. It’s early in the morning, though, so the air isn’t yet heavy or hot enough to chase her back into the air conditioning. There’s a languid quality to the air and the early sun spills like liquid gold through the morning mist. The woman sips her coffee and watches the birds start to gather in the garden.

Suddenly, there’s a disturbance. The birds scatter from the feeder as a large squirrel climbs from the trees above and stealthily begins to shimmy his way down the feeder. The woman sighs. Along the back fence line, she and her husband have set up feeders designed for these nosy squirrels. They were a summer craft project for two of her six grandchildren. Yet this squirrel is deliberately worming his way to her “squirrel-proof” bird feeders instead of easily partaking breakfast from the squirrel feeders not ten feet away. “I don’t think so,” she says. She slowly reaches for something set against the wall to the left. It’s an old BB gun her father gave to her years ago. Still moving slowly as not to draw the attention of the animal, she rests the butt of the gun against her shoulder and sights it over the squirrel’s rear-end. A handful of seconds later, a loud report pierces the peaceful, morning lull. Birds scatter from the trees. The offending squirrel chitters his way back to the fence line and over it into the neighbor’s yard after being taught a thorough lesson.

This is a true story. In fact, I’m related to this woman. She is my grandmother. Next month when my new Harlequin Superromance novel hits the shelves, you could say this story is given its very own reincarnation. In the opening scene of the first chapter, the heroine, Adrian Carlton, is sighting her seven-year-old’s BB gun over the half-door leading out onto her own covered porch and she’s about to teach a squirrel a similar lesson. The squirrel gets away in this version but comes back later for another go-round, resulting in a trip to the emergency room for the book’s hero, James Bracken, who winds up in the crosshairs by accident.

Inspiration comes in many forms to the writer. For me and my July Superromance, His Rebel Heart, one of the many inspirations packed into this contemporary romance is my grandmother.



Can a rebel ever change his ways?  
Being a single mother and successful florist is tough, especially when your next-door neighbor is the man who shattered your heart. Eight years ago, bad boy James Bracken walked away from Adrian Carlton…and their unborn child. Now he’s back. And Adrian’s desire to protect her son from the truth of his biological father isn’t enough to hide the wild blue eyes of father and son, or to keep Adrian from surrendering to the raw passion between her and James. But is he truly the changed man he claims to be? Maybe this time his rebel heart really is home to stay.

 

When it came time for researching His Rebel Heart, I found my knowledge of BB guns sorely lacking. With a son well on his way to that "cowboy" age where interest in things like water guns and NERF guns becomes a reality (dear sweet lord, help me), I realized that I might need to know a bit more and not just for the purpose of my story. Fortunately, my husband knows quite a bit about guns and ammunition. He’s a cracking good shot. Or should I say “crack shot?” (Gun lingo? Not my forte.) When I started asking questions, he not only gave me the answers I needed, he asked if I would like a shooting lesson.

One afternoon we go into the woods—sans kiddies, of course. The hub tells me to put a few rounds in an old printer that once tormented me with regular error messages and random whining noises. “Only fair to put it out of its misery,” the hub tells me before we begin and I heartily agree. My shoulder tingles from the kick of the old weapon. He teaches me gun safety and marksmanship all in the course of a few hours. All the while, I ask what might seem like random questions to an outsider. (“If you accidentally wound up in the crosshairs, how bad would it hurt?” “Would you need a trip to the ER?” “How long would it take you to heal?”) The hub is accustomed to me peppering him with strange questions. He’s my live-in scuba diving, automotive, ammunitions, building and handyman expert. In the rare case he doesn’t have an answer for me, he does the research himself and gets back to me quickly. In return for my questions, he asks things like “At what range?” (“Fifteen to twenty feet,” I answer.) “Where’s the wound?” (I clear my throat and answer a little sheepishly. “In the hind quarters.” At this, he raises a brow. “It’s the dude, isn’t it?” he asks. I smile. “Of course!” He shakes his head and the corner of his mouth lifts into a wry smile. “That’s mean.” “It’s not out of spite,” I explain. “It's important to the story that I get him to the hospital.” He frowns “Does the shot have to be down below?” “Yes,” I tell him. “Why?” he asks. “Because it’s funny?” I say, again a bit sheepishly. He pauses, considers then nods. “You’re right. It is a little funny.”) And we go back to shooting.

 

When we’re done with the BB gun, I expect the lesson to be over. The hub looks around, makes sure there’s no one in the area and reaches back into the waistband of his jeans. “While we’re here…” he says and takes out his pistol. I frown. “Is this where you kill me?” He points to a target twenty feet away. “I want you to practice with this. Aim for the inner circle.” I give him my I-don’t-like-handguns face. I don’t. I really, really don’t. It took me a while to reconcile myself with the fact that we keep weapons in our home. However, I married a man who was introduced to guns at a very young age and who was raised a hunter and not likely to change. He understands the responsibilities that go hand-in-hand with gun ownership. He keeps all his guns locked up tight and up high away from little hands. When he comes home at night, I hear the comforting clicking sound which means he’s double- and triple-checking that there’s nothing chambered. (Another comfort? Knowing that if we’re ever in a bank or a store or anywhere else in public with our children and there’s a gunman at large, the steadfast and levelheaded man next to me has a conceal-and-carry and won’t hesitate to defend their lives.)

Back in the woods, he sees my hesitation and he reminds me of several break-ins in our neighborhood through the years, most of which took place during the day. He also mentions the break-in at my other grandmother’s house months before while she was away from home. I think of the scene in the latter half of the book that I'm dreading writing during which the heroine's life in endangered by her abusive ex-husband. More so, I think of our babies and the frightening world we live in and I take the pistol. I get another lesson in gun safety. “Red is dead,” he tells me. “Wait,” I say. “Red means the gun is dead or the person you’re aiming at is dead?” “The person,” he tells me, making sure that gets across. I digest that tidbit before the hub teaches me how to load the clip and how to check to see whether or not there is a bullet in the chamber. He stands behind me as I face the target. There’s much more of a kick to the pistol than the BB gun so he stands behind me and fixes both my hands in place over the gun. I’m shaking like a leaf by this point so he holds my arms steady as he counts off and I squeeze the trigger. Despite his front braced against my back and his arms locked on mine, I still shriek like a girl and jerk at the report, so much so that the empty shell pings back and hits me in the nose as it is ejected from the gun. The hub curses and says, “Should’ve brought safety glasses.” “You’re damn right,” I say, shaken up a good bit more. The gun feels heavy in my hand, a foreign object I sense that I have no business touching. It occurs to me more than ever that my dislike and fear of guns stems mostly from the fact that I know nothing about them or how to handle them. So I listened carefully as he walked me through it again. By the time we are done and I watch the hub put the now unloaded pistol back into the waistband of his jeans, I’m still not comfortable with the weapon. I believe firmly that it’s never safe to be too comfortable with firearms. But I now know enough to use one in the event that I ever have to. As we walked out of the woods, I tell him how much I hate that our children live in a world in which we have to learn to use weapons to protect ourselves. Knowing how much that keeps me up at night, the hub puts his arm around me and assures me, “You’ll probably never have to.” I say, “Even if I don’t, all this will be great book fodder one day.” He laughs and says, “That’s my girl.” (I encourage everybody to learn about gun safety or to take a gun safety course, especially those with access to firearms. You can never be too careful.)

A few days later, the hub gets peppered with more research questions. He’s out in the garage changing the brakes on the truck. Our son is sitting next to him on the concrete floor, rearranging the shiny, silver pieces in the hub’s master socket set. I pick up one of the tools spread across the floor around them and ask, “What’s this doohickey?” He glances up and answers, “Torque wrench.” I pick up another tool and ask, “And this one?” He looks at me like I should know this one. “A crescent wrench,” he says. “Hm,” I reply and glance over the tools again. “Would you say you need all these to work on car engines, too?” “This is about your book, isn’t it?” “Yes,” I say. I explain that the hero is a skilled automotive mechanic. “Why do you ask?” I ask him. He reminds of that time he was working on his brother’s truck early in our relationship and he tried to walk me through basic engine mechanics. “Oh,” I say, remembering that interlude well. Even after the thorough lesson, I failed to understand how an engine works. I still have only a rudimentary knowledge of engine parts. Battery. Starter. Spark plugs. That’s about it. It’s really fortunate that I married such a know-it-all who can tell me these things (and fix them if needed). The hub smiles and says, “If you’re interested in tools or engines, that usually means you’re up to something.” “Guilty,” I say with a grin.

 

In the "Dear Reader" letter at the beginning of His Rebel Heart, I couldn’t help but note my husband’s influence on this book in particular. It just so happened that over the course of writing the story that the hero slowly evolved into somebody tall with a beard and at one point (probably one of my favorite scenes of the book) with a tool belt slung low around his hips, much like the man I’m married to. (Sh! The name James might come from the hub's middle name, too.) I owe a good chunk of the character of James to him, just as I owe the opening scene of the book to my grandmother. Hopefully neither will mind finding small reincarnations of themselves in the book when they read it.

Just for you, Roses, I'm revealing the first excerpt of His Rebel Heart here on the blog today. I hope you enjoy! You can preorder your copy of the book for just $3.99 at Harlequin, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo today....

 

"I don't want you to be alone..." 

 

Adrian sighed. "James, I have been alone, for a really long time." 

 

"I'm sorry," he said. "Adrian...I am so, so sorry." 

 

When he drew her into his arms, she was helpless to stop him. She felt his lips come to rest on the top of her head. His arms wrapped around her back, closing her in, tightening. 

 

He simply held her, for what seemed like ages. 

 

A small eternity passed in the space of moments. Memories stirred, whispering to life, ghosts of what had been.  

 

When his lips touched hers, it felt so natural. The simple press of his lips brought her back to life. Her heart fluttered, lifting and soaring.

 

She should have pushed him away. After everything, she should shove him back, make him leave. Instead, she let the moment stretch, deepen until she felt him brush up against the soul she'd buried from everything and everyone...

Research Opens New Realms of Possibilities by Jena Galifany

Being a writer is a big open door. Like reading, one may experience a wide variety of places, times and people that one would not have opportunity to explore in their day to day live. Unlike reading, the writer can take any one of those places, times and people in any direction they care to explore. All it takes is some research, and imagination, and the writer is on their way.

I think I like the research for a story as much as I enjoy the actual writing. A few semesters ago, I took a writing class at college with my daughter. During the course of the semester, we were required to do a research paper. I'd heard the term over the years of my daughter going through school but I'd never personally written one. This was surely going to be a challenge and a lot of fun.

We needed to begin by choosing a subject. So many possibilities. So many subjects. I live in the high desert where the Space Shuttles were built. We have schools named for the different ships and streets as well. years ago, I was privileged to see the Shuttle Challenger as it was taken from where it was built in Palmdale, out to Edwards Air Force Base. It rolled right past me and I was overwhelmed at the size of the white space ship. She was beautiful. Thus, I decided to write my paper on the Shuttle program.

There were so many ships and so much information, I had to limit the possibilities because the paper was only to be seven to ten pages in length. Since I'd actually see the Challenger, I narrowed my research to her.

Everyone recalls the day we lost Challenger in the explosion that took the lives of the seven astronauts. I decided that few knew of the many "First time in History" events that took place aboard her before that fated day.
_____________________________

·                     Challenger was fitted with DuPont White Nomex Felt Insulated Thermal Protection Tiles (TPS) on the payload bay doors, upper wing surfaces, and the rear fuselage. The TPS protects the ship from the intense heat generated during re-entry.

·                     During the Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) test of the engines, a hydrogen leak was detected. Five days later, a second FRF was initiated that confirmed the cracks. SSME1 (Space Shuttle Main Engine 1) had to be replaced. SSME2 and SSME3 were removed, thoroughly tested and reinstalled. It was the first time the main engines of any space craft had been removed and/or replaced while on the launch pad.

·                     Challenger was the first launch to require two FRFs before her maiden voyage.

·                     Her maiden flight, 4 April, 1983, was the first to be launched from Mobile Launch Platform 2, a new addition at the Kennedy Space Center.

·                     On 18 March, 1965, Russian Alexei Leonov was the first human to space walk. Aboard Challenger, space walking, for the first time would have a purpose other than being able to say one had left the safety of the capsule. Mission Specialists Story Musgrave and Donald H. Peterson tested the new EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) during a four hour space walk, the first of the Space Shuttle Program. Story Musgrove was the only person to fly on all five of the space-worthy shuttles.

·                     Challenger’s second mission was Sally Rides’ first flight. On 18 June, 1983, she became the first American woman in space.

·                     Challenger’s next launch was the first time American astronauts attempted a night launch since Apollo 17 in 1972. The purpose of the night launch was the Insat-1B India satellite. In order for it to be deployed in the proper position, the satellite had to be placed above the Pacific Ocean at sunset. In order for this to occur, Challenger had to be launched at night.

·                     At the end of this mission, Challenger made the first night landing as well. On 5 September, 1983, 7,500 feet of desert from the end of the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, had to be lit to show astronauts the glide path for the landing. In the dark, Challenger was invisible to the watchers until seconds before touch-down

·                     Aboard Challenger during this night launch and landing was Mission Specialist Lt. Colonel Guion S. Bluford, Jr., the first African-American astronaut in space.

·                     Challenger’s next flight was launched on 3 February, 1984. During the flight, Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless, II, was the first astronaut in history to walk in space untethered to the shuttle via a compressed gas rocket pack called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). The unit is a self-contained jet-propelled backpack that resembles an easy chair without the seat. The photo of McCandless completely untethered from the Challenger is the most used and most recognized NASA photo of all time. McCandless ventured 320 feet from Challenger, a walk that made him the first human Earth-orbiting satellite in history.

·                     During this mission, launched 6 April, 1984, George Nelson was the next to utilize the MMU. He was to capture the satellite Solar Maximum Mission (Solar Max) for the first retrieval and repair of a satellite. The capture failed and the satellite went into a spin. After control was regained by ground control at Goddard Spaceflight Center, the satellite was captured via the RMS robotic arm. James D. van Hoften assisted Nelson in replacing the attitude control mechanism and electronics before the Solar Max was redeployed. It was now possible to repair satellites instead of writing them off as lost and useless.

·                     Challenger hosted the first shuttle mission to carry two women into space: Sally Ride and Kathryn D. Sullivan. Kathryn made two historical firsts aboard Challenger’s sixth flight. In order to perform her mission of demonstrating the ORS (Orbital Refueling System), Kathryn spent three and a half hours utilizing the EVA unit. She was the first American woman to space walk. She also successfully completed the first simulation of in-orbit spacecraft refueling. She conducted refueling of a satellite using hydrazine fuel and the ORS

·                     On 28 January, 1986, seventy-three seconds after lift-off, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, destroying the shuttle and killing all seven of the astronauts aboard. The Challenger’s final first was that the tragedy was the first in-flight loss of astronauts in the history of the United States Space Program.

·                     The second shuttle to join the space program, Challenger hosted some of the most exciting first time events in American history. She flew nine successful missions and left a legacy of knowledge gleaned through experimentation conducted aboard during her short life of completed missions. Ten satellites were launched from her payload bay. Satellites that might have gone obsolete were repaired and returned to service. Challenger served the world well during her few years of service. Her final crew and she, herself, will live forever in the hearts of the many who worked at NASA during her existence And in the history books of the United States Space Program.

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The Shuttle Program offered so many possibilities to the United States Space Program. It enabled us to do so many things beyond the realm of Earth and provided several spectacular firsts in history. 

 

Thank you for allowing me to share a condensed version of my ten page research paper on Challenger. I enjoyed doing the research at the library and on the internet. Learning how to do a research paper has opened up many possibilities for me for future projects for writing future novels. It was a learning experience and well worth the time.

 

Cheers!

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