The People Behind the Pages

"My Stephen," Scott Brubaker with our son, Eric

When my book club recently discovered that Stephen Masters was a made-up character in The Philadelphia Matriarch, I saw a flicker of disappointment cross a few faces. It made sense — readers often fall for characters who feel real. I went home that evening thinking about how to respond and decided to sleep on it.

By morning, my heart had its answer.

Stephen may be fictional, but he was born from fragments of truth — from the kindnesses, conversations, and encouragement of real people I’ve been blessed to know. People like Stephen, Nora Murphy, Edwina, Attorney Alabaster and even the honorable Judge Mulhorn each carry whispers of someone I’ve met along the way. They’re composites of mentors who believed in me, friends who offered wisdom, and gentle souls who quietly modeled faith and perseverance.

When I told another book club that my own husband Scott is “my Stephen,” it brought smiles all around. He’s the one who encourages me to dream big, to write to my heart’s content, and to believe in the beauty of what can be created when love and support meet purpose.

Not long ago, I came across the story of author Harper Lee and her friends, the Browns, who believed so strongly in her talent that they gifted her a year’s salary so she could write. That single act of faith gave the world To Kill a Mockingbird — a timeless masterpiece. It reminded me how often behind every great story stands someone who simply said, “I believe in you.”

So yes, Stephen Masters may have stepped from the imagination, but his spirit — that blend of quiet strength, gentle guidance, and steadfast belief — is very much alive in the real people who walk beside me.

Maybe that’s the truest magic of fiction: when imagined characters reflect real hearts that have shaped our journey.

Looking back in reflection, I see how God weaves encouragers into our paths just when we need them most. They show up not by accident, but by divine appointment — to remind us that our gifts matter and that His plans often unfold through the kindness of others.

A favorite verse, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Every “Stephen” in our lives — whether friend, spouse, or stranger — is living proof of that verse in motion.

I’m grateful for those who believed in me before I fully believed in myself, and for a God who continues to send gentle reminders that we are never writing our stories alone.