Meticulously! I’ve been known to drive a couple of hours just to watch the sunset in a location and make sure I’ve gotten the details just right. Of course, as novelists we never get it exactly right (and it really annoys us when a mistake slips through). But the beauty (and the curse) of writing modern historical fiction is that there are so many primary sources available. Generally, I use a combination of: Books Photographs Newspaper Articles Interviews Oral and written history (read about the letters that inspired The Secret Life of Shirley Sullivan) Research papers Respected websites whose content I can verify It’s a lot of work and takes up a decent chunk of my initial writing time but given I’m writing in the time of people’s mothers, grandparents and great-grandparents, it feels so important to make sure I get things right wherever I can.