So I had a Supernatural marathon on the other day while I was working on some of the lighter lifting of the writing life—answering emails, keeping up on my social networking, following up on an acceptance letter for a poem—and in the episode on the TV, Sam and Dean are on a “hunt” when they find a novel that sounds suspiciously like their own story. In fact, everything about the novel is just like them. Naturally, they go to find the author. Let me paraphrase the scene:
Author: I’m sorry. I don’t see how this is possible. I imagined you.
Sam/Dean: We’ll here we are.
Author: I was going for a Vonnegut thing, writing a scene where I’m confronted by the characters I created.
Sam/Dean: So what happens next?
You can see how this got me thinking. What if I was confronted by my characters? Which character would I want to walk into the apartment and say, “What’s for dinner?” (Chinese takeout, in case you were wondering.)
My first instinct was to say that I wanted to meet the hero of my new book, It Happened One Night. Eli Ward is a meteorite hunter who has just the right mix of alpha and beta. I’ve been getting a lot of letters and comments about readers being in love with Eli, and I certainly wouldn’t mind chatting with him over my fried rice.
But then, the more I got thinking about it, the character I’d really like to meet is Beatrice—an elderly Korean-American grandmother. Beatrice is a complex woman who means to help the heroine of Simple Wishes find her way into the self-acceptance (and ultimately true love). I think Beatrice still has some stories to tell that I didn’t explore in Simple Wishes.
Oh--and as a side note--Sam and/or Dean are definitely characters I want to, uh, meet. :-)
My question to you: What character from the literary world do you want to meet in real life?
I would like to meet Eve Dallas and Roarke from J.D.Robb's In Death Series. I think they would be an interesting couple to hang out with.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hang out a few hours with the women from Jane Porter's books. They are strong women.
ReplyDeleteAlex Cross for some intense conversations. Boy, has he seen a lot.
Stephanie Plum for some laughs.
I think I would enjoy spending time with some of the authors to get a feel for how their minds work. Very creative people.
Huckleberry Finn - I loved him as a little girl and always dreamed of spending a day with him.
ReplyDeletei would like to meet Merit from Some Girls bite by Chloe Neill
ReplyDeleteKate Hoffmann's Quinn family especially Keely! She grew up away from her brothers, but turned into a strong, independent, resourceful young woman.
ReplyDeleteOh I'd like to uh..meet Sam and Dean too ;)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have a while with the Carpathian men in Christine Feehan's Dark series. They are just so big and Yummy.
Thanks so much for commenting guys! I loved reading all of these (with the exception maybe of the comment about handbags, which I think may be spam).
ReplyDeleteSee you all next month!