When I wrote God on Mayhem Street, I created Frank Townsend’s family farm even though I didn’t know a thing about farming. As part of my research, I toured a friend’s farm and recruited Veterinarian Bill Stork to read my manuscript. His feedback gave Frank’s farm the authenticity it needed. (For more on my God on Mayhem Street research, see: Fictional Research and Help with Poisoning Cows).

Now, while writing The Devil Particle, I’m creating a whole new world that takes place in the near future. This time around, there’s so much more to simply make up. But the story still needs to be grounded in reality to make it plausible. So, I’ve conducted a lot of fictional research including:

I’m on the fence — should I sign with a literary agent and traditionally publish my young adult series The Devil Particle or publish it myself? Both paths to publishing have advantages and disadvantages.

My friend and colleague, Valerie Biel, is taking both paths. She independently published her young adult Circle of Nine series and is working with her agent, Tina Schwartz of The Purcell Agency, to get her middle-grade books traditionally published. To help me decide, I interviewed Valerie: