I love my characters, and for the time that I am writing their stories, I am so immersed in their world that these people are more than real.  I have to remind myself not to mention them in non-book conversations, as that kind of talk garners me odd looks.

So after schooling myself to avoid piping up about Tasmyn learning to drive stick shift or Michael getting into his first choice college, it’s quite jarring that once the book is published, others speak to me as though my characters are living, breathing people. It has taken me a little time to adjust and enjoy it. But I absolutely love it when, in the middle of conversation, someone begins talking about Michael as though he’s a mutual acquaintance or asks me questions about Nell, as if I had just come from visiting her.

I’m not sure if all of this is merely gratifying to me as a writer or enabling my own insanity. Either way, it works for me.  Hearing how each character has impacted readers helps me to develop nuances in their personalities and their stories. And. . yes, it does give me a little writers’ high!