Oh God, RPF. And yeah. Authors that you read =/= your friends writing fanfic for you. I didn't grow up expecting that either - I was too involved with the characters to think about the creator, usually to the point that I forgot there really was a creator - as soon as I remember the creator, I think, "okay, this is fiction, someone invented this, none of these people are real, get a damn grip on yourself." Which indicates I was sliding toward The Crazy, for sure, but at least it wasn't a taking-it-out-on-other-people Crazy. I don't think that level of emotional involvement would even be possible if I was buddy-buddy with the creator. I don't know though; I really should get around to reading your novels.

Totally agree on the second paragraph.