FAQs

Do you use people you know in your books?

No, I really don't.

I once wrote a novel for fun and loosely based the characters on people I knew. But it got me into trouble. Some people were offended by the way I saw them. Others kept saying, "I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't say that." Others wanted me to make them bigger, or better looking, or give them longer hair . . . And the words ‘loosely based' didn't seem to pacify anybody.

I quickly realised it wasn't a good idea to even slightly borrow from an acquaintance. And I've never done it since.

Having said that, writers don't write in a bubble. I can't help but be influenced by the people around me. I watch and I listen - and I'm sure that what I see and hear influences my characters and storylines somehow. But my friends won't find themselves on the pages of my novels, so you can all stop looking for similarities now.

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