I’m still working on the timings of volume 1. I went to talk to a midwifery lecturer a couple of weeks ago to try to get the details of the birth more accurate and now I’m revising those sections along with the timings. I was shocked to find out how long the birth would actually take. It’s made even harder to do as Alex and George are also having their own adventure at the same time. I have to keep track of three different watches and Maria’s actual time. It’s a nightmare!
Of course most readers will have no idea whether the story is accurate or not but to achieve credibility I think the critical reader needs to be sure that the story is as accurate as it can be. This will be especially important in the later volumes when some extraordinary events will be described which even the least critical reader will have difficulty swallowing. The work needs to build a reputation for authenticity, honesty and accuracy, so it’s probably worth the effort.
The ideal, of course, would be to get a variety of experts to review every technical aspect before publication but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think they would want paying, although that’s not really the problem. The hard part would be to find experts willing to give their time to do the reviews. Maybe I’ll ask my friendly midwife whether she’s willing to review it, but I’m not hopeful.
