Sarah asked Jeffrey Caston:

Hi Jeffrey! So, this is bonkers, BUT... my name is Sarah Vinson, I live in Portland, Oregon, and I am an enormous King fan. A friend of mine just sent the synopsis of your book to me and I was shocked to see my name and city in printed fiction! How did you name your character? I've been in the PNW for 27 years, but I don't think we know each other, right?

Jeffrey Caston Hi, Sarah. Wow. That is uh.... that is quite a coincidence! I'm based up in the Seattle area. I've been to Portland a handful of times, but never lived there. We don't know each other. I went back through the history of my drafts because your question made me pretty curious. "Sarah" was her first name since the beginning. I originally had a different surname in the first draft I created WAAAAY back in 2002. In my 2006 re-write (still way before the modern self-publishing), I had changed the surname to Vinson. I don't recall exactly how I came up with it, but I have a vague recollection of not being at all happy with her original last name and then changing it by looking in a phone book (though not an OR phone book I can assure you). I assure you it is pure coincidence. I hope you are having a good day.

flag