It's All About the Research

By Alice Loweecey

​Way back when I was writing the first book in my first series (Force of Habit, 2011), I realized I needed some hands-on research. Specifically, guns. I'd never even touched a gun, but Private Investigators do, and my main character was a PI. TV shows and YouTube videos weren't enough for what I needed. So I scheduled a private lesson at a local gun academy.
 
The owner took one look at me and suggested a tiny little ivory-colored .22 pistol. I explained why I was there and that I needed to practice on a Glock. Being a smart business owner, he shrugged his shoulders and took me back to the gun range with my choice.
 
I'm fairly decent at archery, and I was surprised at the subtle differences in aiming a gun vs. an arrow. When I said I needed to hear what a shot sounded like without the ear guards, he said he didn't recommend it but it was my choice. We were in a long cement-block tunnel. I moved one ear guard partly off one ear and fired.
 
Remember the scene in The Godfather where Michael Corleone is practicing to kill the corrupt cop? He fires the gun and after the loud report he says to Clemenza, "Madonna, my ears." That was pretty much my reaction. Then I wrote the scene involving gunfire in a closed room.
 
I knew the lesson was worth it when my next-door neighbor, who worked security, came across the lawn and shook my hand. She thanked me for correctly writing about gunfire in closed places.
 
Don't get me wrong, library and online research is great. I can't hop in a plane and fly to obscure places or time-travel to the 1930s. But hands-on is awesome. Like sword fighting.
 
The second novel in my upcoming mystery series from Level Best Books takes place in a theater. There's stage fighting. I watched a lot of videos, but needed more. So I contacted the great folks at Nickel City Longsword Academy for a few private lessons.
 
Swords are HEAVY. Balanced, but heavy. I hadn't thought of that. I learned the basics of the Spanish style and the Italian style, trained with longswords and rapiers, and it was so much fun. Then I rewatched some videos and everything made more sense. Look for some intense stage fighting in the climax of Book 2, everyone!
 
Here's a picture for proof.

My friends were all, "What a fun idea! I wish I could do that." I'm here to say, "Yes, you can." Want to learn sword fighting? There's probably a training academy in your city. Gun lessons? Same. Don't just wish you could learn a new skill—search for local places on the internet! Lessons take an hour or so. Do you have an hour? What do you want to learn how to do? Almost anything is possible! Let me know in the comments. I promise not to challenge anyone to a duel.

Baker of brownies and tormenter of characters, A.M. Loweecey grew up watching Hammer horror films and Scooby-Doo mysteries, which explains a whole lot. When A.M. isn’t on walks with their dog Zeus or finding new ways to scare the pants off readers, they’re growing vegetables in the garden and water lilies in the koi pond. A.M. also has 9 books in the Giulia Driscoll PI mystery series (as Alice Loweecey) and 2 stand-alone horrors as Kate Morgan: Staking Cinderella and The Redeemers. They also have several anthologized short stories. Her first book with Level Best, Death of a Bad Penny, will be released in August 2026.

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