First Casualty

The characters in the world of A.W. Powers come to him in dreams and when he is mowing the lawn. He can't decide if he should quit mowing or go into business and mow more lawns. The characters want their stories told and have chosen him to be their mouthpiece. He believes his characters have many of the features he desires but is sadly lacking. Even the bad guys. Powers spends his time failing to understand the behaviors of people, but appreciative of what they do, knowing he couldn't make it up. No one can. But it's all material. Fortunately, he spends his time writing, not scratching his head and creating a bald spot.

The Psychic Guardian Angel series arrived in a series of nightmares. Powers recognized the literary value of the nightmares, and the therapeutic value of using them in his writing. If there are any extended streaks of low creativity, like writer's block or too much fun, the nightmares get worse and will even repeat themselves until making their way into a notebook or file for future use and he is back at the keyboard. Sleep can be difficult enough without having characters and plotlines nagging at you, requiring resolution or exorcism.