When people ask me how I come up with ideas for stories, I tell them I don't. The stories come to me, usually in the form of one of the characters who suddenly appears in my head with something to say. The closest thing I can equate it to is sitting alone at the bar nursing a slow drink when one of the other patrons pulls up a stool beside me. Sometimes they introduce themselves and spill their lifestory, other times they play hard to get, but always they are the storytellers. My role is closer to tabloid reporter, eagerly plying them with cheap booze in hopes they'll share all their secrets before last call arrives.