Welcome Guest Author Gale Leach!

When Ann asked me to do a guest post on her blog, I thought about all the research that goes into her books. They may be fiction, but they're based on fact, just like my children's novels are, too. It takes a lot of time, but the reward is knowing that what you include in your story is as correct as it can be. Not only that, researching to ensure what you say is correct often leads to new discoveries that enhance your writing in other ways.

My first series of children's books is about Bruce, a caterpillar. Bruce goes to school, wears a backpack, and speaks to birds, ants, and pigs -- he's definitely anthropomorphized -- but still I tried to describe the habits of a caterpillar and, in fact, his particular species of caterpillar accurately. Bruce has a great series of adventures, all of which involve many other creatures. Near the end of the last novel, Bruce and his friends are in terrible trouble: they're stuck in a quarry and an evil bat is trying to kill them. Two of his friends are a praying mantis and a moth. I did some online research about these creatures and happened to run across the fact that mantises and moths have evolved mechanisms for ultrasonic hearing that allows them to sense bats' echo locating calls. Suddenly, not only did I have the information I needed about the mantis, but I also had a new method for getting everyone out of trouble and back to safety.

For me, getting the facts right probably doesn't matter as much as it does for Ann, whose stories are depicting real events from history. But I know that my characters, who are very real to me, will be more real to my readers because I've done my research.

You can read more about me and my novels at www.galeleach.com.