The other day, a woman I know came up to me and said, “Do you think your sister could give me a quote for re-doing my living room?” I stared at her for a minute, uncomprehending. All of my siblings are tax accountants or some variation thereof.
“Um. What?”
“Isn’t she an interior designer?”
“No. ” My exppression must have clearly telegraphed my “Where did you get that idea?” befuddlement because then she said, “Oh. Well, I read your novel and I thought for sure your sister was actually an interior designer.”
Sometimes you get the details right enough that people really believe they’re true!