History in a Hurry

Atlanta, Georgia, novelist David Fulmer--author of the new Philadelphia-set novel The Blue Door, but still best known for his series featuring early 20th-century New Orleans sleuth Valentin St. Cyr--submits to an interview with the Sons of Spade blog. In the course of it, he explains something important about his historical research methods:

I do research for every book. First of all, I read all the books on a time and place. I also do something different. I go to the libraries and read old newspapers. I’m not looking for anything in particular, just soaking up the news from the street. I find this helps me with the content and pace of speech from the day. So I can use that in dialogue. The books are for the big historical picture, the newspapers bring me down to the ground where average people are living.

The full exchange can be found here.