In 2006 I received a sweatshirt for Christmas. It is my favorite one for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost, it came from my Mom. She is known for two things in regards to Christmas gifts: atomic tape and catalogs. This was a catalog find that she gave me the year I published my first book. At a gathering in my sister’s basement I opened it in front of about twenty people. There was a lot of chuckling for a few seconds and then; silence. As everyone in the room wondered the same thing. Had I written about them?
The second reason I love this shirt are the conversations that take place when I wear it. Questions like, “Are you writing a book?”; “How do I get in one of your books?”; “Have you written about me?”; and my personal favorite, “You won’t put that in your book, will you?”
People are often surprised to learn that I really don’t intentionally write about people I know. My story ideas have come from several different places. Sometimes it is a scene in a movie where a theme is presented, but not developed to my liking. A few have come people watching (one of my favorite places to peek at folks is in their cars). Once in awhile a question will trigger an entire book of possibilities.
Most of my characters ‘come to life’ in my mind’s eye; almost in the form of a video. To some this sounds crazy and for a long time I never told anyone how I developed characters. But I have met other authors who describe similar experiences.
So if you see my sweatshirt coming, rest assured you do not really have to be careful because you are not likely to end up in my next novel.