Chapter 19 - Are You in My Books?

Many authors model their characters after people they know.  And most authors who would tell you they don't are lying to you.  My children were, quite indirectly, the inspiration for Brooke and Branson personalities.  They are the children I am most familiar with so suffice it to say that more than a few of their character traits make an appearance in the book.  There are others as well.  I like to think that Charlie is a conglomeration of the best characteristics of a few of the boys I dated at Brooke’s age.  His name, Charlie Johnson, I realized long after the book’s publication, was the name of my father’s barber when I was growing up.  It’s funny what your brain stores away.  If I’m being honest there’s also a lot of myself in the book – my beliefs and philosophies on life.  You can’t take yourself out of your work.  I don’t know that I would want to even if I could.