I’m often asked where I find my characters. Are they based on people I know? Nope. But they are based on people I don’t know. For instance, in a subplot, heroine Corrie Locke is hired by basketball superstar, Ty Calvin, to find his missing lucky charm. I’ve never known any professional sports stars. But I did have a brief encounter, a brush with one. It was enough for me to want to base a character on him.

A few years ago, I waited on the first tee of a local golf course with my junior golfer child. Superstar Alonzo Mourning approached us from behind and asked if he could play through. In golf speak, that’s, “Mind if I go first? I’m in a little bit of a rush.” He asked so politely, so kindly, that he left me with a lasting impression. Of someone who treated others well, of an animal lover, a gentle role model, one who was bent on doing the right thing. I have no idea what Mr. Mourning is really like. But I had a strong notion of what my basketball player creation would be like. Kind, thoughtful, generous, and yes, an animal lover who would go to great lengths for his animal and human friends. Would I have created the character without that brief encounter? Probably not.

In another brief meet-up, I had a brush with an actor that inspired me to create Corrie’s best friend and possible love interest, Michael. This actor was one I already admired. Meeting him in person only solidified that admiration.

I was in Westwood Village, home to my alma mater UCLA and Stan’s donuts (my favorite donut shop and Corrie’s as well). I spotted Zachary Levi going into a coffee store. I hopped out of the car and struck up a conversation with Mr. Levi. I can’t remember the content, but let’s just say he was marvelous, and again, the impression was unforgettable. Of an intelligent, personable, and energetic individual with a ready smile. And yes, he too was kindly. He made a point of introducing his companions and, well, for those of you who’ve read my book, you know what Michael is like. Many readers have listed him as their favorite character. Every time I wrote the Michael parts, I thought of Zachary Levi.

Not all of my characters are based on brief encounters. But they are based on impressions. From real life and photos…in magazines. My favorite photos appear in the French publication, Point de Vue, because they feature European royalty, well dressed and expressive. I can almost hear them speaking. The perfect ingredients to conjuring up characters.

Writers do this. I know I do. We slip in little bits of real, everyday life into our works of fiction. Just a sliver really. Here’s one example: there’s a scene where heroine/amateur sleuth/newly minted entertainment attorney, Corrie Locke, is touring a bigger, better office space with a movie studio boss…and possible murder suspect. Corrie accompanies the handsome, sometimes oddly mysterious executive vice president to inspect the new building. They are alone in the uninhabited office, which makes her feel a wee bit nervous. Especially because her gun is in her car. Here’s the scene snippet as it occurs in the book:

He leaned down toward my head, practically burying his nose in my hair.
“Do you mind?” I squirmed.
“You smell good.”
“So does hot chocolate, but you don’t nosedive into that, do you?”
“I might, I love hot chocolate.”

I crafted this scene after a brief encounter I had in my local grocery store while I waited in line to make my purchase. My back was to those waiting behind me. I was closing in on the cashier when I heard loud, shallow breaths in even tempo, close to my ear. Then I felt a slight jab, a vague push. I turned my head around. Behind me stood a man, so close that if I leaned forward just a bit, we’d bump noses. His chin was practically buried in my hair.

I think it’s fair to state that most of us do not like people, outside of those personally invited, to enter a diameter of say, two feet, within our physical presence. Even one foot is acceptable when standing in line. I move forward when I get crowded from behind. Quite often, so does the person behind me, even if there’s no need to do so. Most grocery stores have ample space. I’ve learned to carry a large handbag and place it between me and any personal zone violators. This helps maintain a respectable distance.

This tiny encounter impacted me enough for me to recall it years later and insert it into my novel. Mostly because I chuckled about it…afterward. It’s easy to laugh off slightly annoying brief encounters, and insert them into a work of fiction to share with others, who can laugh along with you.

It was nearly a year ago when, while flying home from the East Coast, I experienced a series of epiphanies. Thirty in total at 35,000 feet in the air. About halfway through the flight, I’d felt dreadful. Dreadfully air-sick, frustrated, impatient, perturbed, and disturbed. I was an emotional Mount Vesuvius, ready to blow. I sat huddled in a corner of the plane, shade pulled down, eyes squeezed shut, fighting nausea, with an onslaught of unhappy thoughts that made me miserable. My saving grace was that no one knew about my distressed state, but me.

The last leg of my trip had included a writer’s conference that left me uncertain. The query letter for my completed manuscript had been read aloud in front of three literary agents and an audience of writers. The first agent remarked it was “excellently written.” The other two stated it wasn’t the norm, so they’d likely discard it. I’d written the query as a blurb for the back of my hopefully soon to be published book. It was solid as far as I was concerned. Three agents, including the one who responded favorably to my letter, asked that I send my manuscript to them. Yet I left the conference feeling gosh darn unhappy.

That quiet discontentment unleashed the torrent of epiphanies during my plane ride. An epiphany is an illuminating discovery or realization. Mine consisted of a list of life changes that needed to be made to help me better guard my happiness.

I won’t name all the epiphanies, as some are too personal, but here are a sampling:

1. No clutter.
2. No fretting.
3. No time spent on news media that could cause fretting.
4. No wearing feel-bad clothes (donations to my local thrift store keep me happy and hopefully make others happy too).
5. Feed my mind with positive notions/views/content.
6. No likes/dislikes (I’m often in the company of people who carry a personal agenda, which I’ve noticed prevents an open mind and hinders an even state of happiness).
7. Wear only comfortable shoes, but shoes that look good (a costly challenge at times, but a necessary luxury for me, as I walk a lot at work).
8. Change no one but yourself.
9. Criticize no one (criticizing keeps us from the full-time job of focusing on improving ourselves).
10. Be a success at what you love.
11. Read and write more.
12. No time killers/breeze shooters.
13. Plant more flowers.
14. Use wisdom daily.
15. Be uplifting to others.
16. Surround yourself with positive, uplifting people.
17. Enjoy dessert more.
18. Progress without compromise.
19. Keep up the momentum of anything that’s positive.
20. Become a published author.

Number twenty posed the greatest challenge since the “how” eluded me. Or so I thought. A day later, with my epiphanies still fresh, I received truly wonderful news from the lovely person who became my truly wonderful editor at The Wild Rose Press, which led to publication. Did I need to drive myself to a state of emotional upheaval to make what I needed happen? Nope, but it made me realize happiness boosters are often at our fingertips.