Glitchy Research

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene
Saturday, April 5, 2025 1900s man top hat monocle Happy weekend, everyone.  This is a writing process post (but episode-1 is below as a refresher or if anyone missed it).   I’m sharing as an illustration of the level of research and effort (and hopefully professionalism) I put into my blog serials — even the very whimsical ones… although this one is very much grounded in the real world, not fantasy.  Often that work is something no one will think about or see.  That’s how it was this week, so I’m giving you a glimpse of it.
Anyway… two new characters will be introduced in episode-2 of The Dance of Discord, and one of them is possibly the most important character in the story.  They warranted extra care and attention.  I settled on their nationality for this global spy story.  Given their personalities and the political background of the early 1900s, I thought readers might like them to be French.  I wanted one of them to have a royal title, and I liked “marquis.”   And that’s when the trouble started…  including minor details about the title and how other characters would address them.  It was going to be cumbersome and problematic throughout the rest of the serial.  I tossed my week’s worth of writing.

1900s woman with fan and man ballroom Night Cafe

That’s not all.  There’s the time-consuming research.  I had to choose a new country, and it had to meet certain requirements regarding its relationship with the USA, and with the other nations that are bound to come into play with this kind of story.  That’s not all.  I had to choose new character names, suitable to whatever country I would choose. Preferably those names would hint at a royal house of that country. But that’s still not all.  Many countries that had for centuries been monarchies… but by 1900 they weren’t anymore — or they were a combination of one kind or another.  Some had kings in those combinations, and some only when as far as duke, etc.  More research ensued on who still had a royal house, and what titles were no longer used in those “combination countries.”
That’s not all.  Then there was the mail.  Yes, the mail — a detail that small and simple.  In the early 1900s in the USA, did the still call it “the mail” back then, or was it “the post” as it might have been in the UK?  On top of that, with all the upheaval, I found myself using one of the “three things” from Suzette Benjamin, and one from John Howell. (I keep the sets of 3 together.) How many more wrenches was I going to throw into my own work — into one single episode?
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 That said, episode-2 may or may not post this weekend.  I’ve decided to detour from my long-established posting schedule.  Whichever day of the week the new episode is ready, that’s when I’ll post it.  So, I hope you’ll keep an eye out for it.   Here’s the repeat of episode-1.

Dance of Discord

1.  Afoot (repeat)

1908 young man holds British currency
by Teagan via Night Cafe
Rain-washed pink filled the view from my window, obscuring the Capitol Building.  The scent of cherry blossoms was overwhelmed by the deluge.  It was not the flowers that made my nose twitch.  Smoke made a feeble attempt to rise through the rain.  The earthy odor of a half-smoked cigar meant discord moved in the city and adventure was afoot.
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I have much to tell you… but where do I begin?
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When the 20th century was young, Washington, DC was a place where you might find people from anywhere in the world.  Underneath its calm, charming surface, undercurrents of intrigue constantly ebbed and flowed — much like the swamp to which the city and its diplomats are still compared in metaphor.  Diplomacy was a kind of warfare in itself, and it went on unceasingly.  The agents of the Secret Service Bureau were up to their necks in that quagmire.
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Contrary to what you might expect, diplomatic negotiations were most often conducted in the drawing room and occasionally the ballroom.  The diplomats, the players, met at the table as if for a card game.  Colorful players from across the globe came together despite their varied cultures.  There was one thing all of them had in common — they all wanted to win.
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Kings and queens spent sleepless nights, shining their crowns while waiting for word from Washington.  No man may know all that happens there, neither diplomat nor Secret Service agent.  I, however, knew more than most.  You see, I allowed the Bureau’s best covert operative to share my house.  I became his closest confidant.  Which brings me back to that cold, wet spring morning and the story I will tell.  Follow me through the steps of the dance of discord.

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Pixabay
I could smell his half-smoked cigar even before the Secret Service Bureau chief entered my home.  The arrival of Stuart Drummond didn’t bode well.  I went to the butler to make sure he knew that someone was coming to the door.  Then I hurried up the stairs to Milo Quick.  The young Mr. Quick was slow to get out of bed of a morning.
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Drummond moved awkwardly to exit the cab.  The weather aggravated his knee.  The bureau chief was drenched before he reached the door.  As Gideon took his coat and hat, Drummond used his pinky finger to smooth his white handlebar mustache.  Then the butler went to harass Milo into his clothes.
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When the chief entered the parlor, I sat quietly in my favorite wingback chair, idly examining a bluejay’s feather.  He cleared his throat and nodded to me.  Sometimes I thought I made him uncomfortable, which of course, made me pay special attention to him.  I admit to having a wicked streak.  However, at that moment the man looked so distressed that I opted for kindly silence.
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“Good morning, Chief,” Milo Quick asserted, walking into the parlor.  “But crikey!  What brings you out at this early hour and in this abominable weather?  Oh, where are my manners?  You of course remember the Duchess Felina Gattone,” he added with a nod to me.
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Stuart Drummond looked askance at me and Milo tried to stifle a chuckle at his superior’s discomfort.  Fortunately, Gideon interrupted that odd moment by bringing in the coffee tray.
tea-set silver Geminierica at Pixabay
Geminierica at Pixabay
“Here now, Chief, you know you can speak freely in front of the duchess.  You also know that according to the terms of my uncle’s will, I am to keep her near me at all times… Or nearly all,” Milo added with a cough and a blush when I looked at him.
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“Quick, the absurd old man was off his onion…  Although I admit it adds to your cover as an eccentric milquetoast.”
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“Chief, I know Uncle might have been jimberjawed, but he gave you a fine home, and me this enormous tomb,” Milo added in mock despair.
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“Yes, yes, Quick, I remember.  You never let me forget that I have my own home, free and clear because of your uncle’s will,” the chief grumbled.  “And that to keep it, I have to cooperate with… with Duchess Gattone being anywhere you might be, even on assignments.  Well… I know what a comfort she was to him during his last days.  I don’t suppose she can tell anyone about any of this, can she,” the bureau chief mumbled, and it was not a question.
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“Watch your step, Chief.  The duchess doesn’t speak English, but she understands it perfectly well,” my housemate cautioned his superior playfully while winking at me.
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Yes, and I also understand Italian, Spanish, and French, I thought, although I didn’t have the physical ability to use any of the languages.
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Drummond chuckled at his little joke.  Then realizing that I stared at him, he cleared his throat.  However, he redeemed himself by bowing to me.
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The bureau chief went on to tell Milo that a wing of the Whitehouse was flooded by the storm.  The Secret Service had intended to use that wing for several meetings and festivities, including a ball, as a means of covertly gathering information from dozens of diplomats who would attend.
Court ball in Vienna Wilhelm Gause 1900
Court ball in Vienna, Wilhelm Gause 1900, Wikipedia
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“There’s no time to vet and secure another location,” Drummond complained.  “Your uncle’s house, that is to say, your house, is easily large enough for our needs, and there’s even a ballroom.”
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His house?  His?  Didn’t the man realize that I allowed Milo Quick to live in my house?  I thought.
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“Here?” Milo Quick exclaimed.  “Chief, the Bureau well knows my finances.  My uncle left me this house, not a fortune,” he added drolly.  “I don’t have enough furniture, or even dishes for that matter.”
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“Don’t get yourself in a later, Quick.  We’ll bring all that, along with kitchen and wait staff for the duration of the operation.”
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“What’s behind all this forced frivolity, Chief?  There’s something afoot, isn’t there?” Milo asked pointedly.
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Stuard Drummond didn’t answer right away.  He walked to the rosewood table beside my chair and removed an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket.  He shook out the contents.  Several small swatches of paper floated to the table.  Milo deftly caught one tiny scrap and examined it curiously.
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“It’s a corner torn from a British one-pound note,” Milo remarked, raising his eyebrows.  “All of these bits are from different currency.  Belgium, Venezuela, France, Mexico, Spain.  Each of these was a message?  A confirmation?”
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Smoothing his handlebar moustache, Drummond nodded.  He described how each torn bit of currency was sent by an operative in that country as a signal that ambassadors from those nations meant to join forces to further their own agenda.
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“The Bloc secretly convenes in Washington.  If this little dance stumbles, then we could see every major power in the world at war, including us,” Drummond responded gravely.
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End Episode-1

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More sets of 3 random reader things are always welcome. Click here for guidelines about the things.  You’re welcome to leave 3 things in a comment on any serial post.    Stay tuned!  Friendly comments are welcome.    Hugs.

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Of course, here’s the obligatory shameless self-promotion.

The Alchemist and the Woman in Trousers: a Cornelis Drebbel Adventure

Universal Purchase Links

E-book:  relinks.me/B0F1KWXJ5P
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Paperback:  relinks.me/B0F1KVQGFR

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Copyright © 2025 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

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62 thoughts on “Glitchy Research”

    1. I’m sure you do, Robbie, with your historic fiction especially. I let another one detail me for two days this week — determined to make a “reader thing” work that had not been invented yet… That’s part of what makes serials exhausting for me. Hugs.

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    1. Many thanks, Denise. I ran into another “glitch” with a reader thing that didn’t fit the era yesterday, and spent the day on that research… (eye roll) When I say these serials are exhausting for me, I’m not kidding. Anyhow, I had hoped to have episode 2 ready days ago. It’s almost finished now though. Since I have a midweek post, even if I finish sooner, I’ll wait for the weekend to post it. Hugs.

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  4. You’re research is meticulous, Teagan, and I don’t envy you the amount of time it entails or the rework that it kicks off. Phew. But it’s worth it in the long run. Your stories shine because of it. Happy Writing.

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  5. Oh, yes, things that are more complicated than one expected…. When I was writing THE WOLVES OF PORT NOVO, I wanted the money-grubbing priests to wear and use expensive things and the “true priests” to wear inexpensive things, so I had to research dyes and semi-precious stones of the coast and the desert, and what was cheap on the coast was a luxury inland and vice-versa. Then there was the Regency romance story I wrote for an anthology: I’ve been reading Regency Romances most of my life, but now I had to narrow my time frame to a particular year and see what women were wearing and what furnishings a house of a certain age would have AND all that stuff about minor peerage and what you call the eldest son and the elder daughter and the younger daughter….

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    1. Marian, I see that you feel my pain. I find the stuff about the peerage particularly complicated… I finally settled things for that character — and then changed my mind yet again today. His title/name has changed four times now! LOL. Prepare to meet Baron Rogier Dessain soon. 🙂 Hugs.

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        1. Ah! I haven’t read a regency romance in ages. When I was young I read lots of them. I’ll have to look for yours.

          I settled on Belgum because the combination of countries that make up the names of its people made it easier for me, and the general location was right for me.

          You know… I always cast my longer stories (which includes serials). It only just occurred to me that I haven’t done that with this one. Maybe that’s part of the problem.

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  7. It’s quite exciting, Teagan!

    I love the intrigue, which you have brought out more intensely in this rewrite.

    I’m excited for the serial to cotinue.

    It feels quite different from the others, which is also intriguing.

    Thank you!

    Goodness gracious great balls of hugs!

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  8. Way too much rework! I think the best thing you decided to do was to post when you/the story are ready. Sticking to a schedule can be stressful (as you know), and even take away from your wonderful writing and creativity. Thank you for reposting Episode 1, I loved reading it again.

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    1. You are so kind, Jennie — thank you. I actually ran into another research situation, with one of the things that turned out not to be from the right time… and wasted the whole day. The multi-national aspect of this real-world spy story is difficult. I should have realized that before I started. Once all the main aspects are firmly in place, it shouldn’t be as hard. Big hugs.

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    1. That’s such a lovely thing to say, Rebecca. Thanks for this uplifting comment. This really has exhausted me, but making progress now. Prepare to meet the Baron Rogier Dessain (whose title/name now has changed 4 times! LOL) and a very important character, Zola Jouret (whose name changed three times). Haha. Hugs on the wing.

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        1. You are so kind, Rebecca– thank you! And double thanks because I didn’t realize he had posted it yet. I guess I will have an extra post this week (I try to keep it down to 2 because I figure everyone will get sick of me.)

          Another hug back, but the wind (dust storm) is so strong it doesn’t need wings! 🙂 ❤

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  14. I know how you feel, Teagan. My daughter and I have a WIP about our family’s life with Huntington’s disease. It covers forty years and, while my memory is very good when it comes to my wife and our life together, some memories require verification, but this week it was research on Neil Young that had me reading for an hour in order to finish one sentence of a post on X. It was a survey post on favorite music artists. Beatles, Eagles, Dylan or Neil Young.

    That was after I narrowly avoided wading into the convoluted definitions of bridge construction styles while doing a beta read of Dan’s Guidebook of Pittsburgh. Only the first example comes close to what you experience in terms of the consequences of misstating something that might generate the kind of criticism that takes readers away from the point

    Sent from my iPad

    BA

    …“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

    Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus

    “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.

    >

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    1. Hi, Bruce. It’s good to see you. I didn’t remember/know about your book. Yes, I can imagine the research necessary for that kind of topic. The fact that it’s personal also adds to the energy drain involved. (I’ve always wished I could write something about Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, but I just can’t manage to go there long enough to write so much as a full page.)
      LOL, and reading for an hour about a single related topic sounds like me. I can also see how the bridge construction could be a giant tangent.
      I’m not on X anymore. I hope that if you get a chance you’ll put that post on BlueSky. It sounds like it includes some of my favorite music. By the way, I have a cover of Grace Slick’s White Rabbit in progress. Enjoy the weekend. Hugs.

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    1. Thanks, Pam. Oh, I get just as intense about finding the right image as I do with research. I remember you mentioning having the same formatting problem with WordPress that I’m having… I like to put a caption under AI images stating which app I used (they vary greatly, and figuring out the right words to use plays a huge part in getting a good image), but with this current formatting issue, I gave up on that. Hugs.

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  16. So many details to search out and discover. Your time and diligence show in your prose (I couldn’t resist the rhyme) and fascinating characters.

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  18. Neat to read a kind of “behind the scenes” post about your research. Cheers for your diligence on getting details correct in your historical setting. Your stories have amazing flights of fancy, but you balance that with research. 🌞

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    1. Hi, Dave. I’m glad you enjoyed it. (Also behind the scenes, Velma meowing incessantly whenever she hears the clack of the keyboard. eye roll 😉 ) It’s the result of decades of my job… Not being allowed anyone to check my work, yet gigantic trouble if there was a mistake (because I was writing as the voice of one exec or another). Of course, I also have to research each and every “random reader thing”. Even when people are certain a thing existed in a given era, they’re so often wrong… Anyhow, thank you. Hugs.

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  19. The characters and plot are all so vivid. ‘And that’s not all’, you enjoy your readers and bring them close to the story. Thank you, Teagan.
    Also, new to the era: chocolate chip cookies; dynamite and telephone

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  21. Oh my goodness, Teagan, what a gauntlet you ran to get characters fitted into the story. I understand, and I appreciate your attention to detail. “That’s not all.” I also really appreciate your sharing this description of your process with us. I fond the process fascinating, and Olga is right, it’s a sign of the respect you have for your readers, and that makes me feel good.

    I hope you can settle down after the globe-hopping and get some rest.

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    1. Haha. It was a bit of globe-hopping at that, Dan. It really did feel like running a gauntlet by the time I was even halfway through. I’ve decided those two characters will be Belgian. That affords me a wide range of names and connections (simply because of Belgium’s history).
      I guess it is a sign of my respect at that. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but yes. Hugs.

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    1. Thanks so much, Beth. At work, people always hated that I saw “down the road” to what was going to be a problem. I’m sure it makes me a killjoy. But now I’m my own boss, so I can avoid those consequences, even if there’s a little extra work upfront. Hugs.

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  23. Thanks, Teagan. I am grateful and appreciate the care and attention you put into your research and your serials. It is a sign of respect for your readers and for your work. Having read some published book with terrible blunders (and I am not an expert in history, so if I picked them up they must have been quite evident) in them, I can only imagine the amount of work you go to. Don’t worry. I am sure the story is more than worth the wait. Thanks for the update (I love to learn about writers’ methods) and have a lovely (busy and productive) weekend. Big hugs and love to the Scoobies! ♥

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