Sullivan's Island Winter-Spring 2018-19

8 www.SullivansIslandMagazine.com | www.SullivansIslandHomes.com The Characters Create Themselves … Meet Them in Local Author’s New Novel I magine taking a walk with Cujo, your family dog. Feel the warmth of the sun’s rays on your neck. Smell the salty air and feel the wind rustle your hair. Now, imagine coming across $10,000 on this same walk. What would you do? For me, the possibilities are endless. Would I report it? Give it to a charity? Pay off my student loans? For Hugh Buncombe, a bark from his dog was enough. Author and dual resident of Sullivan’s Island and Columbia, Brian Boger weaves together a novel and feel-good beach read, “Champagne Friday.” The story starts out with protagonist Buncombe accompanied by his loyal canine companion, Bailey. They discover a large sum of money spread out across a baseball field. From here, Hugh and Bailey plummet through an adventure, an unforgettable story of friendship, romance and mystery throughout South Carolina. The inspiration of Boger’s story starts in a coffee shop called New Moon Café in Aiken, South Carolina, where he encounters a man paying for his meal with a really old hundred dollar bill. “I asked the man where he got the bill, and he said, ‘Oh, I printed it this morning’ as a joke,” stated Boger. “They had to take the bill into the back of the restaurant to make sure it wasn’t fake.” But the question was never truly answered. Thus an idea was sparked, and a story was born. Boger described the writing process to be driven by By Valerie Smith the characters of his story. “The characters create themselves. I’ve had other authors tell me that the characters write the book. You have very little to do with it. Their hearts and lives drive the action. They keep you up at night.” Some of the characters are based on real people, or shall I say, pooches. That’s right. Bailey, Hugh’s dog, is a lot like a real-life dog. “When my friend’s son got a dog in college, they named him Bailey. That dog could open up a refrigerator and bring you a beer without breaking it,” recalled Boger. “Hugh needed a pet because he’s a widower, so I gave him Bailey. Hugh lost his wife, and he’s like so many people. There are thousands of those people. I wanted to give Hugh a reason to live, which he finds. That’s the inspiration for Hugh.” Along with Hugh and Bailey are a series of strong female characters: Mandy, Carla and Patsy: “Seventy percent of the readers in America are female, so I wanted to show that I know my audience.” Another character, who appears early on, has something to do with the money Hugh finds. Originally, Boger introduced this character in the last third of the book, but he changed that in his revision. “It’s much easier to tease you and sprinkle it in, which is what I do,” Boger explained. Photos courtesy of Brian Boger.