...each a mosaic of friends, family, and acquaintances
This question is often asked. After the publication of my first novel, an interviewer wanted to know if I use my friends or acquaintances to shape my characters. My response was that although it was tempting to do, I quickly determined that it would be disastrous to attempt it. A character’s flaws would cause either insult or disappointment. To portray anyone accurately in a work of fiction would be impossible.
What does happen in the mind of an author, however, is to borrow clusters of character
traits to create heroes or to invent villains. Once the age, gender, education, and background are specifically outlined, a character begins to take on its own life, its own arc of development. A hero may develop a bad habit or take on a negative trait. And villains often either remember or develop positive qualities.
With acquaintances and friends that have passed, however, the circumstances change. For example, the name of the FBI Special Agent who is the head of the Chicago Field Office is Ram Edmunds. A close friend of mine who died early in life, died in the line of duty as an FBI officer. Mutual friends who have read my second book have recognized the name resemblance and appreciate the nod to a fallen hero.
In the same fashion, another friend who succumbed to cancer did serve as the model for a “villain” who appears in my first two novels. Although this fictitious friend of the principal antagonist was involved in international crime, he exhibited several positive qualities which I borrowed from my friend—namely his sense of humor. Much of the charm of “Tío”, who tragically died in an explosion, comes from this friend whom I’d nicknamed “Dante”.
So, to all my friends and acquaintances, if your names or surnames or if any character traits are reminiscent of my characters, such resemblances are coincidental. All the names have been changed “to protect the innocent”.
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