Revisiting The Backlist (as opposed to the Blacklist)

While I’m proof-listening to the audiobook THE MIRROR, I’m remembering bits and pieces of the story that I DIDN'T write. Backstory that changed along the way. Did Nick get married while he was away? Was Sandra's "first time" with Garth, or did she venture out of town to hook up? I almost feel like I'm reading/listening to the story for the first time.

I don't remember every detail of every story I wrote, which makes it that much stranger when I then remember what was in the first draft that changed as the book progressed. Someone recently read THE MIRROR and told me how much they loved the cat. 

The cat?

After she reminded me, I remembered that I'd borrowed a Breakfast at Tiffany's moment designed to help characterize my hero, Garth. 

After more than twenty books, sometimes it's difficult to remember the details. My imagination has always jumped into random scenes with random people I've made up, even as a kid. I used to envision what it would be like to live somewhere else, be someone else. How do they think? Where do they live? What do they do?

Funny fact: When I was young, I randomly bought myself a kids' drum kit. I had a few extra dollars, and I liked to order from the JC Penney catalog - there was a pick-up location within walking distance from my house. I never learned to play the drums, can't tell you what motivated me to buy a drum kit, but I can tell you I pretended I could play (usually when no one else was home because... drums). I'd sit there, banging away, and imagine stories. Yes, I've always had an overactive imagination. Funny thing, those drums never appeared in any of my stories, not even back then. 

Or maybe the drums did feature in one of those early stories, and I just don't remember. 

The devil's in the details.