While I would love nothing more than to write full time, the financial reality would never allow it at this time, so I must continue on with my "day" job, which mirrors my writing....sort of.
This morning as I was messaging with a friend of mine about the reality of my work as opposed to Clay Sullivan's activities, I was on my way to a remote area of Berkeley County that has a notorious reputation, where I was to serve squatters with papers to begin the process of removing them legally from the property. The information I was given by my client was grossly inaccurate and could have placed me in a dangerous situation. Actually, given the history of those involved, I was very much in harm's way. Thankfully, I was able to accomplish what I needed to without any incident, beyond some unpleasant conversation.
Clay seems to have one exciting event after another, while in my experience, things move much slower. I might have one notable incident a month. That wouldn't make for a very interesting book, now would it? That is not to say that I don't draw inspiration from many of the characters I encounter and then fictionalize them into exaggerated or imagined scenarios.
I realize that people close to me will see me when they read "Dead Man's Breath" and that is somewhat unavoidable, but the strange thing is I didn't write Clay Sullivan with me in mind. I won't say who I did model him after as I want to leave it up to the reader of how they envision a character.
At the end of the day, I am writing fiction and I hope that readers will enjoy it as such. It's a bit gritty, imperfect, and at times, unpleasant, not entirely unlike the real world.
Thank you and I'll talk to you all down the road!