Hi, Peggy--I think you nailed it. Our characters become real to us, like old friends (and at least the less-nice ones are familiar). Don't you find yourself saying, "But she would never do that!" just to make your plot work? I've had people ask, "how do you keep your characters straight?" And I look blankly at them: "Because they're all people, not just cardboard cutouts filling space!" (Well, I say it more nicely than that.)
Thanks so much for having me here! People--both readers and reviewers--have said such nice things about An Early Wake. I'm so glad I could share that "magic" with others.
Thank you all for your comments. I first went to Ireland not knowing what to expect, looking mainly to see where my father's family had come from. And look what happened! I'll confess I've borrowed a lot of real details. The pub I called Sullivan's was actually Connolly's when I first saw it. Knockskagh is real, as is Bridget Nolan's house there. And Drombeg definitely is, and is mystical--I visit there every time I'm in West Cork, and it's always different. The Keohanes' house is based on the bed and breakfast where I stayed--where the landlady put me in touch with a second cousin (whose daughter's name is Grainne), who she claimed as a "cousin" too, not that she could explain how. The place continues to surprise me (and a lot of that ends up in the books!).