Talk about research. This round was heart wrenching and educational.
In my upcoming book, one of the detectives is shot and killed in the line of duty. At first I was going back and forth on whether or not to let her live. If so what would her life be like afterwards?
Then I thought about my protagonist. What would be one of the several things I could do to test her?
Finally, after writing a word or two and fussing with rewrites, I decided to make it difficult for my main character and add to her rollercoaster ride as she pushes to solve her case.
For the last two weeks I buried my head in books and had discussions with my friends in law enforcement to learn the proper way to pay tribute to a fallen officer. I even sent the chapter to one of them to see if he approved.
I didn’t want to be disrespectful, but I wanted the scene written correctly and he agreed.
If there is one thing that I’ve learned is that there is a brotherhood that exists among the officers who serve our country and cities; police, firefighters, and military.
To the law enforcement officers all over, thank you for risking your lives to keep us safe.