I'm often asked if I did much research in order to write NOT LIKE YOU. In a sense, yes, but I accomplished most of it long before I ever thought of writing that story. For instance, like Kayla, the main character of NOT LIKE YOU, I had an older boyfriend when I was 16, so if life experience constitutes a form of research-and I would argue that it does-I researched some of the issues inherent in that type of relationship decades before I wrote about it.

Kayla's life story differs significantly from my own, but I certainly mined my own experiences to come up with hers. When NOT LIKE YOU begins, Kayla has moved a lot. So did I: almost thirty times, if I count every house I've lived in; a dozen or so if I only count regions of the country. So writing about a girl for whom home is elusive came naturally to me.

One of my most beloved regions was New Mexico, where I lived on and off for almost two years. Like Kayla, I was initially dismayed by the state's barren appearance. I'd grown up in the Northeast, where vegetation is relatively lush. In New Mexico, there seemed to be so much exposed, dry dirt between plants, and such sad, leafless plants they were! Stick-like spiny things, brittle and mostly brown.

Kayla's increasing fondness for the high desert landscape parallels my own experience of growing to appreciate and eventually love the spare vegetation, the subtle, earthy hues, the remarkably broad and colorful skies.
What about alcoholism? Did I have to research that? Unfortunately, I've known plenty of alcoholics, some still drinking, some staying sober, and everything in-between.  I've had my own unpleasant experiences with alcohol as well, enough so that I stopped drinking many years ago. Creating an alcoholic character, in this case, involved writing scenes depicting not just over-consumption of alcohol but self-centeredness, dishonesty, and an inability to act as a mature parent. I'd like to say that all came from my imagination, and the specifics of Kayla's story have, but who hasn't been self-centered or dishonest or--as my son and husband can verify--immature?

Kayla's love of dogs and her skills with them come directly from owning a terrier and a St. Bernard when i was a kid, plus a lovely dog named Maogli whom I took care of while on a long writing retreat in New Mexico. I talked with social workers regarding Kayla's past in foster care, turned to the Internet and New Mexico friends to brush up on my knowledge of native plants, and consulted with a lawyer to clarify laws pertaining to relationships between minor girls and older men.

In the end, NOT LIKE YOU is entirely a product of my imagination, but it's fueled by many events in my own life. The real, deliberate research was a small part. The unintentional, life-as-research part was huge.

Deborah
http://www.deborahdavisauthor.com