Familiar Names In Tod Goldberg Novel

 I just finished Gangsters Don't Die,  by my cousin, best selling author Tod Goldberg.  It was the third in a series about a fictional hitman who posed as a Las Vegas Rabbi. 

Tod, much like his brother, Lee, also a writer, often uses real names in his work for fictional characters.  This is something that I have come to expect.  However, in this book, I was shocked to see the names of both my grandmothers, Esther Barer and Marie Granek, as well as names from my childhood, Clara Jaffe, Leona Siegel, and Violet Epstein, all members of the Walla Walla synagogue in the 60s.  Their characters, mentioned in passing, were part of a widows' coffee klatch.  In reality, I think they were featured in an old Walla Walla newspaper as part of the B'Nai Brith Women.  The BBW put on an annual rummage sale. If you have the book, you can find the names on page 342.

Also in the book, there was a "Cousin Mike".  Was I the inspiration for that character?  I'll probably never know.