Am I my main character, Katie, in my novel, Child of Mine?

A lot of people assume that an author creates a main character who is really the writer herself, though maybe a little bit in disguise.  And that the supporting characters are really friends and relatives of the author. (My sister thinks she is the sister in my new book, Child of Mine, but she couldn't be further from the truth.)

I am not my main character.  She is Katie, a thirty three year old midwife who longs for a baby of her own.  She is strong willed, independent, bright, and athletic.  She knows what she wants and will do anything to get it.  She thinks she was terrible in algebra but excelled in science and school.

I am not thirty three years old. I'm actually about to turn forty five, which, trust me, is nothing like being thirty three.  I do not long for a baby of my own, in fact, I have two teenaged daughters, ages eighteen and fifteen. Like Katie, though, I went through a lot of infertility treatment, but our stories are not the same. The reasons for our infertility are completely different, and we went through different treatments.

A lot of people think of me as strong willed. I'm not sure I am.  I don't always know what I want, but when I do want something -- like to publish this book -- I find a way to do it. I am not athletic, as a matter of fact, I'm writing this on an unusually mild January day and I should be outside walking for exercise, but I am in my robe and pajamas and it's 10:45 in the morning. I do not like to get sweaty and out of breath!

I am not a midwife. I was terrible in science and never even took Chemistry in high school because I barely made it through Biology. But I am obsessed with pregnancy and birthing and love birthing television shows. I had two completely different births myself and am fascinated by all things pregnancy.  If I was any good at science, I probably would have become an L&D nurse or a midwife. But alas, I am just destined to write about them.

Katie thinks she was terrible at Algebra. I know I was terrible at math. The difference between us is that I was truly terrible at math and did not go to an Ivy League college, but she did.

I am passionate about Katie.  And while we may share some traits, I think she's everything I am not.  I don't know if I wrote her that way subconsciously, or whether she just turned out like that.  But I do love her.  I hope you will, too.