Readers are paramount. I live to write books for them.
We have years to converse with someone, to blurt and rant, to explain our desires and anger and regrets - and oh how we squander those moments.
I was editor of my high school literary magazine and a reporter for the school newspaper.
When you work alone, you need to socialize at some level.
In other words, the people who populate my books are more than caricatures.
My books are primarily plot driven but the best plot in the world is useless if you don't populate them with characters that readers can care about.