An interesting set of questions was presented to me today from various sources. On several different occassions, I was asked the following - Where is Leroy? I looked it up on the map and it's nowhere near southern Indiana. Where is New Salem? Is it Salem? Is this character, Charlie Clark, based on your husband? Where did you learn to bypass a security system like that? Were those your recipes in the book?
I answered each of those questions as they came up but it sent my train of thought down an interesting track - how much of these books are people going to associate with me? Do the people who know me assume I'm only writing about certain things because they occurred in my life? What other questions am I going to be facing down the road????
To answer the first set of questions - My Leroy is fictional. Yes, there is a Leroy, Indiana, but it is a tiny, tiny pinprick on the map. Population itsy bitsy - officially! They are not the same. "Leroy" was a very personal decision for me, the town had to be named Leroy, and I can't go into why. (Have to leave some mystery) Seeing that Leroy, Indiana was way up north and tiny, I decided to go ahead and create another one. New Salem is also fictional, is not based on Salem, Indiana. It is very loosely based on New Albany. Olman County, Indiana - well, it is also a fictional place. I like it there - it's one county I don't have to pay taxes in. I may well move there, if I can figure out how to warp reality and fiction into one.
Is Charlie Clark based on my husband? Um, sorta. Yes, physically he is similar to my husband. Yes, he is quiet and playful like my husband. That is basically where the similarities end. My husband has never served in our military, does not own his own business (yet), and does not drive a truck. His parents are not divorced, and his father is not an alcoholic. There is one more similiarity - my hubby is a cat person, like Charlie.
Where did I learn to bypass a security system like that? I made it up. Don't know if it is a real device or not, but I've had several people remark on that. Hey, it sounds good enough to make people wonder. I did look up 'how to bypass security systems' and coupled with other searches like 'how to shoot people' and 'what's the best gun to use for sniping', I'm sure the FBI is on my internet trail as we speak. :)
I've played around with some of those recipes, or thought about it.
What other questions might come up - and what could be potential mine fields for me and mine? Well, certainly the question about my mother-in-law. Is David's mother's character based on hers? Absolutely not. I do know MILs like that, but my own is a sweet lady who wouldn't dream of acting like David's mother. I'm very lucky with both my in-laws.
Another question that I am just waiting for - does your hubby kiss like Charlie? Or perhaps "What is your sex life like? Is that how you guys do it?" Oy. I do not kiss and tell, and that carries over to my fiction. I am like Lauren in that respect - what happens in my bedroom is extremely private and personal, and I don't even share it with my best friends, much less fictionalize it and put it out there for the world to consume. Sorry, folks...:D.
This is an interesting learning experience for hubby and myself. We've both started to get some of these questions, and that was something I never anticipated. It's a little bit exciting, and a little bit intimidating. I don't think I have to worry about things overly much as long as I don't get totally rich and famous, but if it happens, we'll deal with it.
Now...I really need to get back to the second book...I can't wait to see what happens in this next scene! Please email me with questions...I would love to hear from you.
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