When I was very little, I had two imaginary friends. Their names were Georgie and Boo-Boo, and according to the stories my two older sisters tell, my two friends and I were the source of a great deal of aggravation and embarrassment. It seems I insisted on talking to them, holding doors and waiting for them, and other shenanigans that deeply scarred my sisters socially. I do not remember all the details of those incidents, but I can still close my eyes and ‘see’ Georgie and Boo-Boo. They were that real to me.
Fast forward about fifty years. It is no surprise, in light of what I’ve just admitted, that in the process of writing, the characters in my books become very real to me. I wasn’t aware how real until recently…
Karl and I went to Rapid City, South Dakota a month or so ago to see Jeff Dunham at their civic center. We got there early, and decided to kill a couple of hours by walking around downtown Rapid City. (In my new book, Peaks and Valleys, the main character, Claire, moves to Rapid City.) We walked around the area and were able to identify the buildings that I’d researched on the internet and used as the setting for Claire. We found the building that housed the saloon, found the bank across the street. As we walked along, enjoying the architecture and history of the area, this thought came to me, “How cool is this that I am walking where Claire actually walked and lived while she was here!”
Wait, what? It took me a few seconds to realize the silliness in that thought, since Claire is fictional and hasn’t walked anywhere except the corridors of my own mind. I stopped on the street and had a good laugh at myself. When I could talk again, I shared the silliness with Karl. He laughed and shook his head.
Peaks and Valleys was released yesterday. It is available on Amazon in paperback and for e-books. You are invited to meet Claire there. My prayer is that my newest little book is a source of good entertainment and history info for you and that God is glorified when you read it. I also hope that Claire and her cohorts become real to you, too!
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