As an author, one of the questions I often get asked is if any of my characters are based on people I know in real life.
Honestly, the answer is sort of and not really. Not really because no, I don’t consciously base any characters on anyone I know in real life.
And sort of is because I’m sure some traits sneak in from time to time, because I’m human and things like that happen. But it’s not intentional.
That is especially true with the wedding planner in A Wedding to Murder For, a standalone novella in the Charlie Kingsley Cozy Mystery series.
I say that because I actually DO know a wedding/event planner, and while she did “inspire” the story in a way, she absolutely was NOT the basis of the wedding planner character in the book.
This is a very important point as the wedding planner in A Wedding to Murder For was, well, murdered.
(But, if you actually knew my wedding/event planner friend, you would know her personality was nothing like that poor wedding planner victim in my book.)
Now that that’s out of the way…
How did my wedding/event planner friend inspire the book?
From the stories she told.
My friend had been a wedding/event planner for years (mostly as a side hustle as she worked a regular job) and she even had been blessed to have worked with some true celebrities.
And yes, they were as crazy and entitled as you might imagine. But even just normal people would lose their minds from time to time. (Although as far as I knew, no bodies showed up at any of her events.)
So, when I decided I wanted to write a wedding murder mystery, it was a no brainer that I turn the bride into a Bridezilla, which also meant she would be the number one suspect.
And, if you have an irate Bridezilla, it kind of follows that the wedding planner would take the brunt of her ire.
And if the Bridezilla got REALLY angry, well…who knows what might happen?
Here’s where you can check out A Wedding to Murder For, available in ebook, audio and paperback at all the retailers, including my direct store.
