TGIF…Heroes

I’ve been talking about my historical characters, but this week let’s switch to contemporary. Specifically the heroes in The Good Luck Series. No three guys could be less alike. Darren Wright is a go getter, hot shot advertising executive who has spent several years in the Big Apple. Kyle Landers is a laid-back, easy going veterinarian. And Alex Jones is an environmental engineer with a secret sensitive side that gives the reader an unexpected chuckle. Yet they are all Alpha males who gets their leading lady with the help of Duke, the over weight bloodhound.

Duke is a character all on his own. His mischievous in The Good Luck Charm, chasing after squirrels and dragging Keely through bushes or causing her and Darren to fall into the Fountain City Lake when he gets them tangled in his leash. He’s manipulative in The Good Luck Spell making Jama think he’s dying when he lies around moaning at the moon at night. And he’s secretive in The Good Luck Potion because he has a lady friend who he let’s eat his food and share his yard when Alex isn’t around. Of course, Queenie finally gets a new home with Alex and Duke.

When I wrote The Good Luck Charm I don’t think I had a clear picture or an inspiration for Darren Wright. I only had a vague image in my mind of what he and Keely looked like. Same thing with Jama and Kyle. Unlike when I wrote The Good Luck Potion. I had this picture of Alex plastered on my laptop screen so every time I turned it on I saw his face and I thought about what mischief (if any) he would be getting into with Sue that day. It does make for an interesting writing experience. And I hate to admit this, but I had no idea who the buy in the photo was for months and then one day I saw on Hildie McQueen’s blog post that it was Brant Daugherty. Then he began showing up on these TV shows I watch and I was like holy cow this guy has a thousand faces depending on what character he plays.

When I started pinning on Pinterest I thought I should do a board for each book to make it interesting for my readers. I toyed with several options for Darren. At one point I thought maybe a few images I found of Darren Criss was what my character would look like, but then I saw this one of Raoul Bova and it fit. You might think who is that. He played in Under the Tuscan Sun with Diane Lane.

It was a little harder to find the right guy to match the image in my mind for Kyle. But I think this one of Chace Crawford with his sun streaked hair and charming smile fits Kyle perfectly.