Probably the most important task a writer has to face is to bring characters from one-dimensional composites, to robust, three-dimensional, living, breathing people on the written page. A daunting task. A writer must not only understand who these people are, but the world they live and work in as well. Luckily there are so many sources to tap into from the friends we share our daily lives with to the vast knowledge of the internet.

Research is everything. A writer can only write what she knows. In Almost Naked Inc., Dr. Matthew Fox inventor and owner of the new wonder fabric almostnaked™ needs a woman to pose as the CEO of the company marketing his sexy fabric, but Bridget Cole, sharp, take-charge woman entrepreneur may be more than this absent-minded professor bargained for when she wants more from him than a job. She wants to
open negotiations for a hot time, fully naked, in his bed.

To "get into character," I had to envision what it must be like to be a model and an MIT professor. I’ve had eighteen years experience in academia, so understanding higher education wasn’t a problem. It took me a little bit of time to research MIT and the surrounding Cambridge, Massachusetts area where MIT is located, still not too hard. The real challenge came when developing my heroine, Bridget Cole. Even though I’ve thumbed my way through many fashion magazines, I had no idea what it’s like to be a model.

Friends

Where would we be without them? Thanks to a generous co-worker, a German immigrant, who had previously worked in a department store as a buyer, I hit the jackpot. She had a great storehouse of knowledge to help me understand the fashion business and how to market Matt’s fabric. She also helped me greatly with information on the models she’d handled when she’d planned and implemented a fashion show for her store. Valuable information that made my book richer.

I also got the inside scoop on garden party politics from another co-worker. It was interesting to discover exactly what the ladies discussed during those meetings and one of the topics was dirt. Yes, the kind you dig in, not the gossip kind.

Strangers

The first order of business was to try to find out exactly what a model did all day with her time. Of course, we all know that models spend a great deal of time behind a camera, but how do they get these jobs, who handles them, and how do they get started? Those were questions I had to ask myself when I envisioned Bridget Cole’s life.

That’s where The Wilhelmina Modeling Agency granted me their time and knowledge to help me understand how models conduct their career and the minutiae of their every day lives. I’m indebted.

To compound my problem, I also had to understand the textile industry and how it worked, as well as, the manufacturing industry and exactly how cloth is made–ah–from scratch.

Thanks to a textile engineer who was the brother of another co-worker, I was able to understand the basics of this complex, scientific process.

Internet

The internet offered a lot of information, especially a wonderful website dedicated to fashion textile buyers with attendees like Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, and Ann Taylor to name a few. It was fascinating to see the other side of the fashion coin.

I also had to research designers, since Bridget takes on marketing the sexy fabric Matt invented. She also decides that’s what she wants to be by the end of the book.

So I’m very thankful that I have both friends and strangers who are so willing to give so much of their time to answer so many (sometimes dumb) questions.

Karen Anders is currently bothering friends and strangers for help on her current WIP, an FBI agent book due for release from Harlequin Blaze in September 2006. She is the author of eleven novels, all fire engine red hot!

Look for "Deliver Me" in the upcoming Red Letter Nights Christmas Anthology with Alison Kent and Jeanie London in November 2005 and the first book in the Court du Chaud mini-series with Give Me Fever in December 2005 to be followed by Alison Kent in January, and Jeanie London in February. Visit her NEW website www.karenanders.com to enter her July contest and to be kept up-to-date on all her news.

Now for the goodies!

One grand prize winner will win an 11X 14 1941 vintage Vogue magazine print and an autographed copy of Manhandling.

Four runners up will receive an autographed copy of Manhandling.