Sabine
asked
Josh Lanyon:
Are the characters in your books sometimes based on real people? And if the answer is yes, has someone recognised himself?
Josh Lanyon
Wellllll, writers are observers by nature and so it's inevitable that a huge part of what we observe (and, yes, experience) will make it into our fiction. Everything, including friends and family are grist for the mill.
That said, I've never lifted anyone from real life and plopped them down whole into fiction. I've taken bits and pieces of people and personalities, I've taken real crimes, and I've mixed those up with sheer imagination into what I always hope will be entertaining fantasy grounded in a recognizable reality.
I've had people recognize bits of conversations that have made it into my work--to their amusement, so far--but no one has ever recognized themselves because there would be no complete person there to recognize.
I hope that makes sense. ;-)
That said, I've never lifted anyone from real life and plopped them down whole into fiction. I've taken bits and pieces of people and personalities, I've taken real crimes, and I've mixed those up with sheer imagination into what I always hope will be entertaining fantasy grounded in a recognizable reality.
I've had people recognize bits of conversations that have made it into my work--to their amusement, so far--but no one has ever recognized themselves because there would be no complete person there to recognize.
I hope that makes sense. ;-)
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