They've Taken Over--Send Help

Say it with me, readers:

"Characters in books are not real people. They are imaginary products of a writer's imagination."

Okay, maybe say it even simpler:

"Book characters don't exist in real life."

But, guys? They kind of do. Not all of them, but definitely bits and pieces. I realized this Saturday when I was hanging around the pool with my sisters (super hot on the east coast this spring, say whaaat?!). To illustrate, I'll give you a few lines from my currently queried book THESE WICKED WATERS.

"Positive things about short hair: saves time in the shower. Negative: hair cut to the jaw line doesn’t fit into a ponytail."

"I yanked on my ugly florescent life jacket. Underneath I wore a cute tankini with pineapples on it."

"As I entered Mayfield Villa, I wondered if Mom considered the fact that I didn’t know how to swim, before she dragged me to her island."

And here's a picture of me from Saturday...

Short, crazy hair? Check!

Pineapple bathing suit? Check!

Can I swim? NOPE! In fact, I had to be saved in the ocean last summer (never going into the waves again), which happened to kickstart my idea for THESE WICKED WATERS.

So, are book characters all that imaginary? 

I don't know. You tell me.