Random musings and a huge thanks to you

You guys have no idea how many characters are based on people I know in real life, some are amalgamations and some are pretty close to their fictional doppelgangers.

Even Stew...but not mutie Stew, just regular Stew.

I sometimes have divergent, alternate universe thoughts about my characters as well.

I picture Sten fumbling with a smartphone (after being hounded by Verizon for ten years to upgrade his flip phone) and accidentally sending the local sheriff a threatening emoji or an incriminating selfie.

Or Tor texting Anna deep philosophical issues and Jared getting jealous and demanding a group chat in which he only quotes movie characters in response.

Or Jimmy Don Booth setting up a Facebook page to buy/sell his Volkswagen collection and getting booted for posting about improvising explosives to combat the local raccoon infestation.

Or Kate slowly moving in and taking over Storm's bachelor pad near the armory (because he wouldn't want to live in that big empty cabin alone) and redecorating the entire thing in the Mid-Century Mod style while he's away for training.

Or Red showing up at her design firm and irritating Bubba/ intimidating the male clients so much that Storm has to order him to stay away.

Or the entire crew going on a road trip to the Grand Canyon, Griswold-style. (Think of how many faux wood-paneled station wagons they'd need!)

Or Meg's house burns down (probably her still catching fire) and so she loads her entire collection of copper tubing and corn up into a U-Haul truck and shows up at the Gundersons Garage over in Halvorsted...

*throws hands up* Okay, I'm finished, but I could go on for days...

One last thing, I've been inspired by the overwhelming support and flooding of my inbox recently. You guys have given me so much motivation to continue. I enjoy reading your feedback and interesting stories and your jokes. I like to hear what you think about the characters from the series and your ideas about what they should do or the towns they should visit.

Writing is a full-time career for me, and I often spend 60+ hours a week at my computer or out doing research and so those moments where I open my email and get to read your encouraging comments just make my day. It is so uplifting to know that I've made it into some of your top five favorite author lists!

Thank you so much, and I hope that I provide you with some small measure of entertainment in return!