Researching Places… in the Ocean
Researching Places… in the Ocean
Jenni Ward : 4th May 2025
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A Lady Most Intrigued got me all excited about historical books, movies, and TV shows again. I'm a huge fan of the BBC mini-series of Pride and Prejudice but my favourite Jane Austen adaptation is Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds.
I must admit, when you write historical romance, you expect to spend hours buried in old books, maps, and fashion sketches. What I didn’t expect was spending a morning squinting at ocean current maps and learning more about GPS coordinates than I ever thought I would.
Enter MyOcean Viewer, a free resource that lets you explore sea surface temperatures, currents, and more in astonishing detail. Most maps stop at the shoreline, but MyOcean helped me pinpoint a very specific spot at sea — perfect for hiding something in my story.
Because, let’s face it, sometimes a fictional shipwreck needs a little scientific accuracy.
Why I Needed an Ocean Map
Why I Needed an Ocean Map
The book I’ve been working on is part of a new sweet historical romance series with a twist: each novel includes a cameo from a different Jane Austen character or couple. For this one, I wanted to weave in Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth from Persuasion.
Wentworth himself doesn’t take center stage — he appears in the background, freshly returned from command at sea — but his presence shapes the story. My main male character is a navy lieutenant who served under Wentworth and is now on shore leave. My heroine is a middle-class woman with an inquisitive streak, living with her grandfather — a self-proclaimed “naval historian” who never served a day but fills his vast estate with ship models, maps, and books.
To tie it all together, I wanted a secret hidden offshore — something a sailor would recognize, but an ordinary townsfolk might miss. That’s where MyOcean Viewer came in.
A Writer’s Treasure Map
A Writer’s Treasure Map
I used the tool to study currents, water velocity, and temperature gradients in the English Channel. I wanted to know: where could a ship realistically have run aground? Where might something be hidden below the waves, marked only by the patterns a seasoned sailor would notice?
The program let me zoom into exact coordinates, watch how the sea shifts with the seasons, and even visualize how a storm might affect navigation. Suddenly, the fictional detail I needed became grounded in reality.
It’s a small thing, perhaps — just a detail in one chapter — but those details are the ones that make a setting come alive. A sailor noticing a line of churned water where a sandbank lies hidden beneath the waves feels real because, well, it is.
Why Lyme Regis?
Why Lyme Regis?
Most of the story unfolds in Lyme Regis, a seaside town already beloved by Austen readers (it’s the site of Louisa Musgrove’s infamous fall in Persuasion). The Cobb, its famous harbor wall, is iconic and makes a natural backdrop for naval officers and windswept heroines alike.
But I wanted more than a romantic seaside stroll — I wanted to use the ocean itself as part of the story’s mystery. By blending Austen’s familiar world with my own fictional threads, I can create a tale where everyday people find themselves pulled into tides of change, love, and adventure.
The Joy of Odd Research
The Joy of Odd Research
This is one of my favorite parts of writing: the unexpected rabbit holes. One day I’m researching 1870s seamstress tools. The next, I’m elbow-deep in maps of chlorophyll mass concentrations in the North Sea.
And while I might not use 90% of what I learn, that 10% makes all the difference. A story feels richer when the author has stood (virtually) on the shoreline, peered into the waves, and asked, “What lies beneath?”
For Fellow Writers
For Fellow Writers
If you ever need to set a scene at sea — whether historical, fantasy, or even contemporary — I highly recommend checking out MyOcean Viewer. It’s free, fascinating, and a surprisingly addictive way to explore the world’s oceans.
You can find it here: MyOcean Viewer
What’s Next for This Story
What’s Next for This Story
I’ll admit: I’m still untangling a few plot knots in this one (sometimes characters refuse to cooperate!). But the pieces are there:
A navy lieutenant haunted by secrets.
A spirited woman with curiosity as sharp as her wit.
A grandfather who knows the sea only from books.
A hidden danger offshore, waiting to be revealed.
And, of course, a cameo from Anne and Wentworth.
It’s a story about finding common ground across divides — class, experience, and even sea versus shore. And yes, it’s a sweet romance at heart.
Stay Connected
Stay Connected
👉 If you’d like to be the first to hear when this story sets sail, be sure to join my newsletter. Subscribers get sneak peeks, cover reveals, and updates straight to their inbox — no naval charts required.
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👉 If you’d like to be the first to hear when this story sets sail, be sure to join my newsletter. Subscribers get sneak peeks, cover reveals, and updates straight to their inbox — no naval charts required.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime
💭 And if you're already signed up, reply to any newsletter as I'd love to know which Jane Austen characters are your very favourite and why.
💭 And if you're already signed up, reply to any newsletter as I'd love to know which Jane Austen characters are your very favourite and why.
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