Pim Bijlsma asked Brent Hartinger:

Does Russel look a lot like you, Brent? Does he have the same feelings and would he deal with situation the same way you would?

Brent Hartinger I used to. But the more I write him, the less like me he seems. We definitely have a lot in common: we're self-conscious, generally optimistic, and too neurotic. But he's funnier than I am, probably more of a risk-taker, probably less neurotic (!!), but maybe more self-absorbed.

In terms of looks, he's a little taller, and isn't losing his hair (as I was at age fricking 21!).

One way I've put it in the past: he's not me, now or when I was his age. But he might be like me if I was his age in 2015.

Either way, I don't think of him at me at all. He's definitely his own person, with his own life and his own friends and travails.

Thanks for asking!

Brent

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