Verisimilitude (and a publishing deal): A result of on-location research BY J.C. CORRY
M
y publishing journey began in 2015 when I flew to London, England to meet the editor of a film script I had written about Geoffrey Chaucer. She encouraged me to fly to Milan to continue my research. Learning about the architecture, food, wine, art, topography, and history of the city was hugely instructive in drafting The Storyteller’s Reputation. I realized then that, when feasible, I needed to visit the locations in my stories to truly understand my characters. Much has changed since Chaucer’s time, but in Europe, much remains the same.
How Chaucer would help win the Battle of Nájera became clear as I stood in Navarrete gazing at the topography around me, another detail made possible by being there. I finished the novel, and generous beta readers spoke of the “verisimilitude” provided by these specific, sensory details. I kept pitching.
With my script now a novel, I travelled to London, Florence, and the Tuscan town of San Gimignano in 2019 to seek original Vernaccia grape vines, Petrarch’s “wine of kings and Popes,” which Geoffrey Chaucer’s father imported for King Edward III. I didn’t find the vines, but I did find a thousand-year-old winery and historical details that elevated the novel.
After another frustratingly close call with an agent, I considered the indie route, then came across an article about small publishers. I researched and pitched a few directly. Within a month I had two contract offers, and after speaking directly to two authors published by Black Rose Writing, I decided to sign with them. I haven’t looked back.
I kept writing and pitched The Storyteller’s Desire to no avail. I then began The Storyteller’s War: Geoffrey Chaucer, Reluctant Spy and in 2023 followed Chaucer’s footsteps to northern Spain and Nájera location of the story’s penultimate scene.
A few take-aways for aspiring writers/researchers:
From London I flew to Bordeaux, where Chaucer would have sailed. I walked the streets of the “Port of the Moon”—the area around the city’s famed harbour—and visited the stunning Cathedral Saint André, which Chaucer probably visited. Arriving in Pamplona and seeing how it was surrounded by mountains reinforced the idea that whoever controlled the mountain pass also controlled any army’s entry into Navarre. I drank pacharán (an ancient local drink) from high tables in the middle of a wide cobblestoned calle, describing a similar scene in my story. Biographer Marion Turner posits that as a lowly page, Chaucer may have been sent to the Royal Palace of Olite to spy for King Edward—the genesis of my story. Staying overnight at the palace, one of Europe’s best preserved medieval castles, was a visceral experience. The walls were thick, the floors cold, inspiring scenes I later wrote of Chaucer meeting King Carlos in the hanging gardens (still present) filled with exotic animals (now gone). 8
I drove west past pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago, much as they would have in 1366. At Burgos Cathedral, my visit to the central cloister was the basis for a scene in which King Pedro the Cruel kills his daughter’s suitor.
WORDworks
| 2025 Volume 1
• Prioritize trip locations around scenes where detail is needed. • Keep your schedule open to allow for serendipity. • Rent a car for the sake of flexibility. • Organize photos/videos into folders right away so you don’t forget where you were. • Share drafts with trusted beta readers. • And most importantly—keep writing! J.C. Corry’s first memory, looking through stained glass in a London church, coloured his passion for historical fiction. He is emboldened by his father’s hole-ridden Normandy helmet, which sits above his writing desk. His debut novel, The Storyteller’s War: Geoffrey Chaucer, Reluctant Spy, will be published in May 2025. Visit him at jccorry.com.