Most of the character names in His Robot Girlfriend are pretty normal. I had an idea that old fashioned names might make a comeback some time in the future, at least for a generation or two, so the kids in class and Mike’s children’s names went in that direction– Lucas, Harriet, Mabel, etc. The one area in which I didn’t change the names to match this idea was the strippers in the story. They have the same names that they did in the earliest draft.

Patience is the robot in His Robot Girlfriend. She went through a number of names in earlier drafts and was physically quite different in the first draft. She was originally a tall bimbo-esqu platinum blonde (who could change her hair color on demand). As I was rewriting, I began to picture a willowy brunette– more of an Anne Hathaway or an Alyson Hannigan. I had originally thought I would write more of a story arc for Patience, but I decided to concentrate on Mike’s story.

I started talking about the characters in His Robot Girlfriend before, but I thought I might go a little more in-depth this time. Mike, the main character, is the most autobiographical character that I’ve ever written. In an early draft, his last name was Anderson, making it closer to mine. He is like me, a school teacher, a lover of science fiction, overweight, and a homebody. He’s a little older than me, but not as much as when I first started on the book. He has some experiences in life that are different than mine. I had to add a few personality quirks that made him a little less like me, because I didn’t want the character to be me. Reading it again though, I realize it doesn’t make much difference.