Reality Check?

Authors are weird people. If you are one, you know that. If you've ever known one, you most likely wondered about them. They insist that their characters are "real people" who run around in their heads and manifest themselves in strange ways. They sometimes even insist that their characters "tell" them how to write their stories.

But the question comes to light once in awhile, "When do the characters become real to other people?"

I write a lot of books, in a lot of different genres. People often ask me, about Patrick and Grace Mysteries and why I chose them to pattern my favorite senior sleuths after them. These are people I have never met! Impossible? Of course it is. But I tell them that "Patrick and Grace are a little bit of everybody, but not really anybody." I love it when my readers identify with my characters.

It is probably true, however, that the character from my first Women of the Week series, Monday Knight, has captivated people's imaginagion more than any of my other characters. She has her own website at http://meetmondayknight.tripod.com , she has her own blog there, she has been invited on outings on a mountain top in Connecticut to view the planets when they line up, she has been taken on a tour down the Amazon, had a game made for her, gets her own email (she has been forgiven college loans, had more *ahem* enhancements than any man could ever want, has had mortgage approvals, been granted various college degrees), and once in awhile she even gets her own snail mail. She has accumulated more free AOL and Earthlink hours than I could ever hope to get, gotten free pantyhose samples (I know they were hers, even if they hadn't had her name on them, as they were way too small for me!).

Today was another example of how "real" she has become. She got a notice in the mail for a pre-approved Advanta Bank Credit Card. It boasted No annual fee, 0% finance charges for 15 months, and a $50,000 card limit. Yes, this was no ordinary credit card; it was a "Platinum Business card." It even offers a 5% cash back or free travel. How can you top that?

I decided that the honest thing to do was to call the company to let them know the real scoop behind Monday Knight. I got a very delightful young woman on the phone. She told me that her name was Krissy A. (She said she was not allowed to give out her last name.) I explained who Monday Knight is. She laughed with me as we discussed--of course, my books. She said she loves to read, but she usually doesn't read fiction, but she had been thinking about trying a few novels. So, when I told her a bit about Monday Knight, including the fact that it is a contemporary romance novel, she said, "I am going to go over to Amazon and look for your books. And I am definitely going to order it." She laughed again, then added, "I will tell my husband about it and let him see how it is supposed to be done!" Mr. A, you are in for some fun in your future! Monday Knight and her Dr. White can give you some pretty good pointers, inlcuding what kind of flowers a woman REALLY wants!

Krissy A., if you read this, I'd love to have you leave a comment. If you can't make it "take," just sign it as an Anonymous and include your name in the body of your comment. And happy reading! Thanks for making my day--and Monday Knight's!