Is Joe Meadows Ted Clifton?

Someone asked if Joe Meadows, one of the main characters in The Bootlegger's Legacy, was based on me.  The easy answer is no.  Joe is a fictional character.  However there are some common attributes; both CPAs, both enjoyed visiting a bar on occasion, both lived in Oklahoma City, (as you will see in later books) both learned to love to cook--but this is just about author convenience.  Writer's write about what they know (although my friend, Stan Nelson, might disagree) and so Joe and many of the characters in my books will share some of my background because that is what I know.

Joe and Mike went to a bar called Triple's--that was a real bar in Oklahoma City in the 1970s and 80s.  And I would on occasion meet co-workers or friends at that bar--does that make Joe me--of course not.  Joe was stuck in a world that would not change.  In my case I continued to change and tried to find ways to exercise my creative side in my financial work and my art and my writing.

Joe was an accountant because that was a necessary part of the story.  His connection with Mike was both as a friend but also as a financial adviser.  That set Joe up as being able to handle other aspects of the story as they came about.  Each character is written to fit the story--it is not autobiographical.