Another excellent article.

I've never consciously written protagonists as directly based on me, but there is no question my (rather colourful) life experiences and deeply held beliefs inform many of their actions and personalities.

An Amazon reviewer, wrote this about my novel Children of the Folded Valley: “So well written, you could believe it was a memoir.”

More recently, another Amazon reader wrote this about my latest novel Peaceful Quiet Lives: "It’s been a long time since any novel has touched me on such an emotional level: shock initially, then horror, and ultimately sadness; the last few pages were read through tears."

When I saw both the above reviews, I knew I'd succeeded in what you outline in this article. As you say, it's the only way to write a novel.