Unlike a historical novelist, I don't have to research time periods or costumes.  But contemporary novels require research, too, particularly if I'm writing about cops, lawyers or bounty hunters, none of which I am or have been.

My favorite type of research is to actually do whatever it is I'm interested in.  For example, when I wrote a book about archeology (UNEARTHLY DELIGHTS by Karen Leabo, Silhouette Desire) I went on a two-week archeological dig in Belize.  I've donned firefighting gear and put out a chemical fire.  I've ridden around with cops on the beat (THE COP by Karen Leabo, Silhouette Desire).  I've attended a Citizens Police Academy, where I got to participate in "shoot, don't shoot" scenarios.  But sometimes, firsthand research just isn't possible.

My second-favorite way to research is to spend time with a person who does what I'm interested in.  Most people love talking about themselves or their work, so often it's just a matter of locating the right person and getting them on the phone or, even better, getting them to agree to let me visit them at their place of work and watch them. 

In my immediate family I have a teacher, a stained-glass artist, an architect, an oil-company executive, an amateur actress, a professional actress, a professional organizer, a Mary Kay constultant, a computer programmer, and a former nun, a college student.  They love to dish.

I went to a skyscraper construction site, put on my hard hat (see picture, above), and got a tour from the project manager.  I spent almost an entire day in the Missing Persons segment of my local police department (the picture at the left is me with some of the detectives).  I watched them work, listened in on their phone conversations, talked to at least five different detectives and the sergeant.  I had to undergo a background check, and they were wary of me at first, but pretty soon they were opening up and revealing all the detailed, personal stuff you could never get from a dry book. 

But books aren't bad.  Sometimes I like to start with some general knowledge books, and at the library you can find books on just about anything from marine archeology (TEN DAYS IN PARADISE by Karen Leabo, Silhouette Romance) to fashion modeling (CLOSE QUARTERS by Karen Leabo, Silhouette Desire).  First-person accounts are the best--the anecdotes often give me plot ideas.  I also love the Internet for research.  I happened to run across a reference to "prosopagnosia" (face blindness) in a book about memory, which intrigued me.  So I Googled that term on my computer and found tons of information, which became the basis for my current book (THE FORGOTTEN COWBOY by Kara Lennox, Harlequin American Romance) and I even had an e-mail correspondence with a woman who has the problem, so I could ask her questions.  And when I can't personally visit a setting, I love travel videos.

I don't claim to always get my facts right, though I do try.  (I once got called on a detail having to do with childbirth--heck, I've never had a baby!)  Sometimes good research--actually going to a place where you've set your story and picking up sensory details--really adds a sense of realism to a book.  Just, please, don't ask me how I research love scenes!