My son, who recently asked me why I photoshopped myself on the cover of Black Kat, inspires this post. In his defense, he hadn’t seen this cover since he was little and I’ve heard this from several other people.
My books are adult-themed, so I don’t discuss them with him, either. Now his friends know his mom’s a “famous” author and did a bunch of research on me during a free period. I have mixed emotions about sixth-graders researching my books. It’s uncomfortable, yet I’m flattered they think I’m cool.
I’ve noticed A LOT of authors, especially newbies, make their main characters like them even when not meaning to. Maybe it’s in their character’s looks or personality, or it’s a fantasy they’re acting out through a story they wrote.
Even in veteran authors’ books, they bury pieces of themselves in their stories. Our likes and dislikes, as well as our fantasies. Woo…the last one is juicy, right?! If I’m reading through a friend’s book, I have fun picking out the pieces of them hidden in the story.
Let’s get to the other parts of me that leak out in Black Kat. It’s not as exciting as you’d think. So…sorry to disappoint. I love figure skating and watched it with my bestie when I was a kid along with gymnastics. Though I rocked at rollerblading, I never did well at ice skating but wished I did, so I made Gwen a skater.
The hockey part for the book came in because my nephews play and I used to attend the hockey games with my brother and his family. Fun times. *cough* especially the strip show at the end of the Thunderbird games.
The biggest reason I wrote the book was an author friend did a research novel on MMA, and I thought it looked like a fun challenge, so I researched hockey. I interviewed a college hockey player for my book, so shout out to Austin for letting me ask him a million questions while I wrote it. There’s a scene in Black Kat toward the end that comes from one of Austin’s hockey stories involving a homemade trophy.
Other characters of mine who have pieces of me? Let’s do a list.
Character most like me (overall): Addison Vallore (Christian’s Kisses). She’s closest to me in personality. Addison’s nerdy, yet ditzy, a little hyper, an artist, and a hopeless romantic/dreamer.
Character who looks most like me: Aleesia Sasson (Bloodlust Prince), especially since I switched back to blonde hair a while back.
Male character most like me: Hunter Callahan (Firebird Series). This is weird, but my close friends, who know my crude sense of humor, would agree. Because of that, and his warm personality, he’s the (male character) most like me.
This was a fun glimpse into my mind, right? I’d love to see more authors make a list and reveal a few secrets hidden in their books. If you do one, let me know! I’d love to see it.
Get your copy of Black Kat on Amazon!
H.N. Sieverding 
I loved reading this! I am totally going to write a post like this. (I will link back to yours, too, of course!)
Siobhan in Reborn used to look a lot more like me, but my hair has mysteriously turned brown during the pandemic, bahahaha!
I thought about you when I made this because you look a lot like Siobhan. And your hair’s brown now? How did I not notice?! I can’t wait to read your post!
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