Thanks for that.

Unfortunately, after a depressing consultation with my solicitor (whom I was seeing on an entirely unrelated business matter to do with a lawsuit I'm currently involved in) I now know all the terrible reasons not to use other people's characters.

It basically comes down to: however much they give permission unless you go and get a notarised statement then their relatives can still come after you once they're dead.

besides, I'd like to think that there are other writers on the board who have things of value to publish about their own characters. You, for example Whitney, had that series of rather evocative and sensual diary stories about young Sorceress that could well become a fascinating novella one day.