she's such a character...

I'm concerned.  Naturally, my characters are starting to mimic real people.  I can't decide how I feel about this.  On the one hand, I have some very dynamic people in my life, and I think that's a good thing, from a "real experiences make for real stories" kind of way.  But on the other hand, I know these dynamic people will one day read my book.  Will they be offended that I usurped their character traits?  Undoubtedly, this will depend on the situation.  When Erika does something endearing that makes the reader love her, the girl friend of mine on whom Erika is based in that moment will likely recognize herself (or will she?) in the scene and (hopefully) be flattered.  However, when Erika's best friend Annabelle is pointing out some serious areas in Erika's life that require some growth, will THAT friend recognize herself and be offended or embarrassed?   I am currently treading lightly because I don't want my book to come off as judgments of real people's character.  Of course, there is a lot of me in the book, and I anticipate there will be even more as relationships develop.  I have no doubt people will read the book and see me in a lot of it... as they should - I'm writing it.  But how does it work when friends read the book?

I'm not even going to get into how to handle R-rated scenes...  knowing my parents (and grandparents!), and other people's parents and grandparents, are going to read my book...

I'm certainly open to any advice on this one...

Cheers!