Men Who Resemble My Characters

I've got it bad right now. The hero of my current WIP ("Memories") is Jack VanAllen. I describe him vaguely in the book (I like to have my readers put their own spin on the likeness, you know?), but I know what he looks like.

Then on one Wake Me Up Wednesday blog from Renee Vincent, she posted pictures of Alex O'Loughlin. Oh my! There was Jack!

I kind of knew who the actor was. I knew he was on Hawaii Five-O (a series my husband was watching but I didn't have much interest in) and discovered he was on a short-lived vampire series I tried to watch (the vampire premise was interesting, but I didn't care for the show).

Now I'm in the middle of editing/revising and I can't get enough of Hawaii Five-O! All because of Alex, mind you. It's like seeing my character on screen. Unreal!

A minor character from my second book ("Sarah's Turn"), Sam Kincaid was definitely written with an actor in mind – Brandon Routh. Yeah, he made a nice Superman and all that, but caught my attention on an episode of "Chuck". Oh yeah – he was Sam! I had hoped to get Brandon's autograph while at Dragon*Con last year, but the cost was prohibitive (to my pocket book, anyway). One day Sam will be featured in his own book. I'm sure I'll have a fixation on Brandon when that occurs!

Normally, I don't flash on celebrities when I read a book. I form a picture of them in my head, but no one famous. So it was strange when it happened as I wrote a book. I had a sense of what Sam looked like, but nothing firm. Then I saw Brandon and BAM! There was my description. But Jack was different. I had already formed a likeness in my head and no one triggered it. At least I didn't think so. Maybe it was buried in my sub conscience. Who knows!

Do you picture famous people of characters you read (or create)? Is it normal for you, or does it only happen occasionally?

Break Over

Woke up with ideas of how to start my third book. That made me happy, because these characters have been quiet for a while (like since May). Other characters have been chatting in my head. But I wasn’t ready to write their story yet. I needed a story to stand on its own (even though it is part of my series).

So when I woke up with a solution to a problem I was having with the female character, and she started talking, I rejoiced. She hadn’t talked to me before. Only the male character had. I can now start writing Jack and Sunny’s story. Ben and Victoria (those characters who were previously chatting) are on the back burner. And what about Sam and Janie you ask (since I’ve written some of that)? They are too close to John and Sarah (their story is mentioned in SARAH’S TURN) and I need to break away from them. Like I said, I need distance from the first two books and Jack and Sunny are that.

Yes, I have strange names to books, but I got tired of calling them by numbers. So I’m naming them by the characters until a firmer title forms in my head. Some people seem to have an easy time naming their books. Not me. I was almost finished with THE UNCOMMON ONE before that name firmed up in my head. SARAH’S TURN came a little easier, though (although it’s technically THE UNCOMMON ONE PART II).

I am trying to plot some of this book out. I thought I had back in April (when I used these characters for an assignment during the Aspiring Authors class I took during the RT Convention). But now that Sunny is talking, I realized what I had plotted out before won’t work. That’s okay. I think I’m basically a pantser at heart.

I really didn’t think I would start on the next project so soon. But the urge to write never goes away. I’m looking forward to seeing where Jack & Sunny take me.