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July 3 question: What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?

If you are a friend of mine – and even if you’re not – you may have heard me say, “I enjoy my characters and their world more than most people I know.”

This is not, at its core, a control issue for me. Well, sort of… because I love the pleasantness of the bickering and shenanigans in the world I create. Not the world that is real, here and now. My world is nicer – and mildly cheeky and teasing – because none of the characters take themselves seriously. They are not walking gods on earth, to be worshiped and cow-towed to, like captains of industry and presidents. They are simple people, self-aware. They know that God is in control, though I do admit that I am the writer lord of their world.

There’s whimsy and there’s spirit, lively, entertaining, and interesting always. No one puts another down unless it’s in jest. Or, as means to whittle a huge ego down to proper size. There is no dominance in my novels and stories. There is no reign.

Another statement that I’ve made is “I never had imaginary friends as a child. Now I have a town filled with imaginary friends.” They are my besties if you will.

I like ensembles and a ‘town voice’, a setting as character, too. Here’s a bio statement of the circle-of-friends female characters of my Faith, Family, Frenzy! series:

Amy – the conniving Millennial with something to prove, akin to the person I might have been if I’d grown up in sunny California with its endless sun, beaches, and possibilities

Bonnie – the formerly shy church secretary who becomes a ‘woman gone wild’ when she wins the lottery. She’s a good-hearted ninny I’d never  have liked

Fran – the former school administrator mastermind, a commandant – what my siblings feel I was, the overlord eldest child

Jackie – the spunky yet traditional farmwife, Mrs. Down-to-Earth. In other words, who I’d have been if I’d spent my adult life in bucolic Indiana

All are someone to love, cherish, and write more about. I love my characters! Don’t you, Constant Reader?