I'm not a natural researcher, and I don't get bogged down in it, but I think if you get it right in the first half, people will forgive you, and then you can move on with the story.
The Thames Torso murders almost fell into my lap. After deciding to use a real historical crime as the focus for the book, I went to Google and searched for unsolved murders in Victorian London, and they basically popped out at me about halfway down the first results page.
Oh, there's a teenage girl inside all women. It comes out mainly when we walk into a room filled with other women and immediately feel self-conscious. I do, anyway. I'm always convinced I'm going to fall flat on my face or something.
Anyone who has to have the word 'charming' in their name probably isn't - just take a look at any dating site where men use 'prince charming' in their description.
I'm a lot less travelled as an adult than I was as a child, but I think living in far flung places gives you a perspective on the world and people that adds flavour to your writing.
We all love a bit of 'true love conquers all,' and when I started on 'Poison,' 'Charm' and 'Beauty,' that was one rule of the fairy tale formula that I didn't want to break.
