Open Discussion: Who would inspire your next novel?

Hmmm.  I seem to have always kept family out.  They just weren't fantastic or weird enough for me (so far).

I've already had Joan Crawford and Merlin inspire my novels, and I used them literally.  Otherwise my characters are amalgamations of a variety of people I've known.

Or I just totally make things up - in fiction you really can do that, ha ha - they really have to be what the plot needs.  In real life people mostly just sit around.

It is funny to really sit back and think about the people we may interact with and consider who could inspire an entire novel. Some of the folks I know have lead lives that could certainly be something straight out of a book!

Then there are other people who are just 'characters' - you know what I mean by this, the Midwestern statement "Oh heavens, he's such a character." - that may not have a story but could/should be captured, even in a fictional setting.

But now to the person.... I'd gladly sit down and read a novel about my high school history teacher. He really loved the subject, and safe to say he had lived some sections of American History. During class he'd mention-in-passing a tidbit here or there, but since he was also my driver's ed teacher I was able to spend hours with him in a car, talking about his life experiences even as I logged practical driving experience. He never shared enough details for me, so I'd love to sit down with life.

Very interesting, both of you! Haha, Peter, maybe people in real-life just don't match up to the fantastical standards you set for your fiction. What's your favorite character from any one of your books? Why?

Julia, your history teacher sounds like quite a guy. Just curious--what history had he lived? WWII? The Civil Rights era?

I think I might write about my great-great-grandfather.

He was a solid member of the greatest generation, and had a sharp interest in national politics, particularly the post WWII - early 70s.

What is it about your great-great-grandfather that could make a novel?

You can't top Joan Crawford.  She was an American icon of the century, from silent films to pushing Pepsi. My novel The Joan Crawford Murders takes place in 1953 when she's back at MGM making Torch Song.  What a loopy musical that was.  It's all great Hollywood history, and great fun !!!

I have been thinking for a while now that climate change would be a great centerpiece for a science fiction novel. Of course it has been done, both in book and in film, but so far, not that brilliantly or memorably.

I don't think that I am the person to do the job....

Besides, you have to say, what's the hook, where is the tension? The thing about climate change is that it is a slow motion train wreck, and the only thing you have at the end of the scene is a wrecked train.

Okay, so you set up a time travel element, so that tension is re-introduced- someone in the past has to do something so that the future will be liveable for humans. Nah, too much like the Terminator series of movies.

Julia, my great-great-grandfather ran away from home at a young age, but ended up a self-made man. I know things weren't always easy, though he was in the end successful, and in family lore he's usually portrayed as consistently successful. Though there was this one time he spent all his money on a suit to go as J.P. Morgan for more money. So it'd be interesting to chart his path to success.

Anyone else out there in cyberland want to comment?