The first thing I had to research in writing THE IMMORTAL was the legend of the Wandering Jew. So I bought several books on that topic (and yes, there ARE several books on that topic). Next, I had to come up with logical “antichrist candidates” for every generation, particularly for the last couple of centuries. Interesting!

Then I had to research the end times–that was easy, because I’d written three novels with Grant Jeffrey on the subject, plus I’d ghostwritten several prophecy books (I don’t do that any more, BTW). Finally, I had to research Rome. I really wanted to go there, but wasn’t able to fit the time into my schedule. Rats!

Oh, yes–and one of the most fascinating things I had to research was body language. I am happy to say that I can now loook at a smiling person and tell whether or not that smile is genuine. (VBG) I’m also pretty good at picking up the tells of a lie, but since I’m not around people who lie all that often, I don’t get as much practice with that one.

Tidbit: when I learned all the tells, etc., I’ve learned to use them in my writing. For instance, when a woman flips her hair, it’s a sexually suggestive sign. So often I’ll have a woman flip her hair when she meets an interesting male character. I don’t explain it of course, but it makes sense.

Obviously, a person with crossed/folded arms is literally erecting a “wall” between themselves and others. They’re feeling defensive, so when I write defensive characters . . . you guessed it, I write them with folded arms. One arm down, one arm folded, is a sign of uncertainty. (Isn’t this stuff useful?)

So–those were my main areas of research. Lots of fun!

Tomorrow: the writing

~~Angie