Every once in a while I’m contacted by an aspiring author of historical fiction who wants to know how she (or he) can make the historical research faster and easier. Fortunately, the contact is usually made by email or phone; that way they can’t see me silently shake my head in dismay. Yes, we’d all like to be more efficient. But if I were to try to save time, I’d cut back on the time I spend on Facebook and Twitter. The time I spend doing historical research—even when it seems like I’m getting nowhere—usually turns out to be pure gold.

An example: A few weeks before Chanukah, I decided to research how Jews living in Regency England celebrated the holiday. Did they have any special customs or foods? Although my primary goal was to come up with a nice blog post, I figured I could also use the information in my Ezra Melamed Mystery Series, which is about—you guessed it—Jews living in Regency England.

Several fruitless hours later, my research seemed to suggest that either Regency Jews didn’t celebrate Chanukah or that they fasted for the entire eight days. In other words, I couldn’t find a single thing. Even my usual trustworthy source, Lady Judith Montefiore, author of the first kosher cookbook published in English, "The Jewish Manual," let me down. While she lists recipes for other Jewish holidays—such as Passover and Purim—there’s not a word about Chanukah, let alone a recipe for potato latkes (pancakes).

It was already late at night when I finally discovered my first clue that Jews living in Regency England—or, to be more precise, Georgian England—did indeed celebrate Chanukah.

To read more, head over to D.B. Schaefer's blog.