People constantly ask me where the ideas for the colorful bar patrons in Becker Circle come from. Are they real people? Did this stuff actually happen? The raw truth is sometimes yes and sometimes no.
The world is full of quirky people—often more interesting than I can make up, like Whistle Bitch, one of the servers in Becker Circle. She was a real bartender we met in an all-night bar/diner near the Space Needle in Seattle. She whistled quite well while she worked and earned the nickname from her coworkers. She’s one of my favorite characters in the book.
A couple of weeks ago, I encountered a server in a bar that will likely show up in a future novel. Two friends and I had just been to an amazing P!NK concert at our local Dallas arena. Afterwards, we grabbed a drink at a bar across the street. One of my friends bumped into a waiter at the server station on the way back from the ladies’. He stopped her and said, “I’m already lost in your eyes.” She’s married and honestly not that gullible, so she rolled those eyes he’s lost in and ignored him.
A group of 30-40 something-year-old small town ladies had ventured into the big city for the same concert. We were standing outside the bar about to call our ride when we heard them speaking very loudly. These ladies were giggling about the photos of his junk a waiter had just showed them—actions that might land him in a book someday. Same waiter, it turns out. I asked if they at least knew his name before seeing his privates. Yes, they did, but none could remember it. The event entertained these ladies. A few cocktails likely had something to do with their reaction, but all three of us were shocked they didn’t see anything terribly wrong with what happened-especially after seeing such an empowering P!NK performance.
I’d love to hear your crazy stories! Please message me on Twitter, Facebook or on my website if you’re willing to share.
Truth is often better than fiction.
