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  • Writer's pictureJoanne Paulson
    • Feb 29
    • 6 min read

I became a character in a book

And then found myself in a group of new friends.





In this case, Number 13 was lucky.


Sometime in the first half of 2022, I received a message from author K.T. McGivens. To my extreme (and happy) surprise, she admitted that she was writing the thirteenth novel in her Katie Porter cozy period mystery series . . . and I was in it.


Was I okay with that?


Well, K.T. You think?


Somehow, K.T. semi-transformed me into Josephine Pepper, the journalist (like me, right) of the piece and a member of the Bounty Bay women’s group who perform socially remarkable tasks. Not to mention assist her main character with solving the crime.


By the time the work was released, it became clear that K.T. had gathered a group of six other IRL authors in her brain (not including herself) and there we were. The Citizens of Bounty.

K.T. had developed remote and unseen relationships with fellow authors Wendy Bayne, Fiona Ingram, Elana McDougall, Harriet Helfand, Erik Meyers and me. She then created characters based on her impressions of these writers. Although she had never seen them or heard their voices, McGivens intuited the authors’ personas from their own books and online profiles. The results were remarkably close to real life.


If that was not the coolest thing that had ever happened to me, what came next was

. . . remarkable.


So being an author has long been described as a solitary experience, and largely, that is true. But this group of writers has found collective strength and support through this unique origin.


“It was an experiment. Placing real people in the book as characters. So, I searched social media for those I thought might get along with each other,” admitted McGivens. “And, more importantly, my heroine would need to like them. It should have been obvious, but it honestly never occurred to me that these real-life authors would want to meet each other after reading the novel or get along so well.”


We now meet regularly from around the world via Zoom to discuss topics pertinent to writing and marketing . . . and much more. We hail from Canada, the United States, Austria, and Cyprus. Distance and time zones have proven no barriers to the group.


Recently, McGivens has also distilled some of our conversations into recordings, complete with mood music and graphics, and posted them on social media. The sessions showcase the authors’ experiences, insights, and writing aspirations. Sharing these aims with each other and the online writing community has reinforced the strong bond of the Bounty group. Like our characters in Bounty Bay, we work together to further our goals, help other authors, and to spread our love of literature.



Author K.T. McGivens



Twitter: @KMcgivens


Meet the author characters of Bounty.


Harriet (H.C.) Helfand (“Helen Hellman”)



Huge appreciations to Harriet who pulled together much of this content

The town of Bounty may exist only in fiction but the connection forged with the other authors bound together in this story by K.T. McGivens is refreshingly real. To writers, characters are the heart and soul of our stories. To be immortalized by another author as a character is an honor greater than any acclaim or award. And the caring friendships nurtured by our shared experiences have become the ultimate prize. With her insight into our personalities, K.T. has done what many authors only dream of doing—she has brought life to her characters and brought her characters to life.


Wendy Bayne (“Winifred Barnes”)



When I first ventured onto social media, I never expected to make friends with whom I could share ideas, angst, and ambitions.

But K.T. McGivens brought together six lovely and diverse people thousands of miles apart who write in different genres. The first time was when she wrote us in as characters in her book The Body in Bounty Bay. It soon followed that she pulled us together across ten time zones as a group willing to follow and support each other as authors and friends. Now, once a month, we meet on Zoom to share ideas and information.

To this day, I cannot thank K.T. McGivens enough for including me in her book and for somehow nailing all our personalities and bringing us together. One group member forwarded an article to us and the title epitomizes what I have found with them: “Writing Hasn’t Won Me Fame or Fortune, But It’s Brought Me Friendship.”

Thank you to the Bounty Bay Group and our founder, K.T. McGivens.


Elana McDougall (“Evelyn McDonald”)



Who hasn’t wished they could be like a favorite character in a beloved novel? Jane Eyre, resilient, and independent? Legolas, facing off against an army of orcs? Anne Shirley of Green Gables, artistic and imaginative? But how much better would it be to actually become a character in a story? That was the wonderful gift five other indie writers and I received, thanks to K.T. McGivens, the ingenious author of The Katie Porter Mysteries series. We were privileged to step into the goings-on in Bounty, the setting of The Body in Bounty Bay. And what a hoot it was!

Before Bounty, we six only knew of each other through our interactions on social media. With the detective skills that her heroine demonstrates, K.T. took clues from our on-line posts and created personas which are remarkably true to who we are. At least I hope I’m as flamboyant and powerful as my alter-ego! But our inclusion in this fantastic mystery wasn’t just a stunt. Our characters didn’t merely stand by and watch Katie discover whodunnit. K.T. used our cluster of very diverse authors in a subplot which made an important point about community. Somehow, K.T. also recognized that desire to help others which we also all share and translated that into action in her story.

Because of K.T., and the magic of Zoom meetings, we have become friends in real life. And I love that I get to visit Bounty and be part of the story every time I open The Body in Bounty Bay. Come. Join us.

Facebook: ElanaMcDougall MAGIC

Twitter/X: @ElanaMcdougall

The Eldritch of Hallows series:


Joanne (J.C.) Paulson (me) (“Josephine Pepper”)




To this day, I do not know why K.T. McGivens felt I deserved to be part of the authorial-become-fictional characters group in The Body in Bounty Bay. When I read the final product, I was honoured. My character in the book is, like me, a journalist, and I can only hope to have the heart of Josephine in real life.

When I thought about it later, I was beyond honoured, and I can’t find the right word to describe that feeling. What the group accomplishes in this novel from a social standpoint (and on more than one level) is truly moving, and I — as fictional me — was part of it. Me.  

As time went on, these authors became friends IRL, as they say. The warmth and support we share now across the miles fills my heart. What a truly amazing thing.


Erik S. Meyers (“Edward Minor”)




Currently in Vienna, Austria, I am an American who has lived abroad for years in six countries on three continents, the longest in Germany.

I am so honored to be a part of the Bounty Group. We support each other, we share writing tips, and we enjoy each other’s company. Thank you to K.T. McGivens for bringing us together in her book and now as great friends off the page as well!

Book links:


Fiona Ingram (“Freya Graham”)




I was curious about the prospect of appearing in anyone’s book; curious and a bit nervous since the author, who had never met me, was going to create a character based on my Twitter profile and my tweets. I wondered what these would say about me. Author K.T. McGivens got my book character down to a T. It was me. Reading about myself was a unique experience and I just hoped that readers would like “me” in the book!

Then I was curious about the other characters, and why had these other authors been picked? When K.T. suggested an online get-together, I also wondered if I would have anything in common with them since we all seem to write in completely different genres. Would we have anything to talk about? I couldn’t have been more surprised and delighted. As authors, no matter our genres, we all have the same fears, problems, issues, and worries and we all naturally came together in support.

What a warm, friendly, supportive, and caring group has been formed from something that started out as a fun twist in a book. This group has grown from a meet-up to a fantastic author support group where we help to promote each other and give advice, suggestions, and share good old-fashioned camaraderie, something that is missing in the world today!

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