FICTION OR REAL LIFE?

I get asked a lot about how much of my real life goes into my books, and how much is truly fiction. The truth is—every book I write is different. I think, as writers, we are always listening, observing… and hopefully living too.

I definitely like to incorporate things from my real life into my books; however, a hero or a heroine may be a combination of many people in my life. They may have bits and pieces molded together, with some other unique features sprinkled in. Characters can be inspired by the real people that you know well, but they take on a life of their own as you write the story.

Only Mine, book 5 in the Honey Mountain series has a heroine that readers really adored. Dylan Thomas is fierce and strong and is not to be messed with. She was definitely inspired by my sister, and they share a ton of characteristics, which helped me when writing this character because she was so different from me. I love my sister and I had fun creating a character that shared a lot of qualities with her, yet Dylan took on a life of her own. She’s a lawyer, she married a Navy Seal, neither of those are things she shares with my sister.

But her witty comebacks, her snark and humor… they were easy for me to draw on because of my relationship with my sister.

So, yes, many characters have pieces of the people in my life, but they become their own character as well. My husband always jokes and asks if he’s in my books (he is definitely book worthy material!), and he looks at the covers and decides that they don’t like him. But what he doesn’t realize, is that he is in almost every hero that I’ve written to date. I’ve been married for thirty years, and it would be impossible to write a romance without pulling from some of my own experiences and feelings.

All of my heroes share a common thread… they love their heroine fiercely. There is usually humor, and tension and banter and a whole lot of push and pull between the hero and the heroine, all leading to the epic HEA (happily ever after)!

I also have five siblings and I write a lot of family series. The text messages are always very popular in my books, and I am always on a constant group text thread with my own siblings in my real life, so I enjoy writing those. Are the conversations the same? No. Not at all. They are completely different.

But the humor, the feelings, the interactions… those are relatable for me.

Looking for your next read? You can start the Cottonwood Cove series today! After the Storm, the final book in the series releases in just a couple weeks, so you can start your binge today! Remember, you might get a glimpse of my own real life hero and/or family and friends in there too!

Happy reading!!

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