Jonathon/Dawson

The three main characters in my book are based on my kids. I have other stories where the characters are completely made up, based on nobody/nothing at all, but this book, this series, Dawson, Cris and Casey are Jonathon, Duncan and Kaes, and it's all their fault.

When Jonathon was a little boy, we came home during a thunderstorm, and just as he got out of the car (after a crash of thunder overhead) he said, "Dragon roar, dragon boom." I thought my mind was going to explode. Those four words overflowed with possibility, with creative genius. I tried to think of a story, but nothing came. Duncan came along and I tried several times to write a story about two brothers and dragons. Nothing worked (though those pathetic attempts are still on my computer). Then Kaes came along and suddenly so did the story. It was waiting for the little sister, the princess, and once she got here, things started falling into place. People who know my kids recognize them in their character counterparts.

Last night, Kaes's friend left her bike at our house when she went home. It wasn't late, but it was already dark outside when Kaes decided she would take the bike over to her friend's house, three houses down from ours. I was in the living room with Matthew and Jonathon when we heard this terrible screaming outside. Jonathon took off like a bullet. I was right behind him, but the boy is six feet tall and runs like a gazelle; he reached his sister long before I did. It turns out our neighbor's dog two houses over had gotten out of the house just as Kaes was walking past and came running up to her. Kaes, who LOVES dogs (and anything else with fur) has been told for over a year that she can't pet this particular dog because he doesn't do well with strangers. In her mind, that meant he was a mean dog, and when he came running up to her, she freaked out. He didn't hurt her, but she was pretty shook up about it.

The point of this story is that Dawson really does love and take care of his sister (and his brother). Do Jonathon and Kaes have the same relationship as Dawson and Casey? No. They are not exactly the same (for one thing, my kids don't really have dragons, darn it) and it's true that Dawson, Cris and Casey are a little idealized. But the love is real, and Dawson is an awesome big brother. He should be: he's based on my Jonathon.