One of my favorite things about writing is the characters. They spend a heck of a lot of time chattering at me in my head, and it's always something of an adventure to do them justice when putting them to paper. As a result, I have a tendency to model them after people in my life who share traits or behaviors with the characters I'm working on.
In Fade, quite a few of the characters are named after my favorite people. Others have specific traits or behaviors really similar to the people in my life. Chelle Michaelson, for instance, reminds me a lot of one of my besties (and her namesake) Chelle Lynn. She's quiet, thoughtful, intelligent, and perceptive. She's the one everyone looks to when they need advice or just need a little perspective, and being around her is calming. One of her sisters, Beth, is named and modeled after another dear friend. She's fun, a little mischevious, and full of life. She's perceptive as heck, and knows when to push and when to let things slide. Their sister Dani is a lot like my sisters. She's outgoing, bubbly, easily excited, and a bit of a handful at times.
And then there's Dace. There is a lot I could say about Dace.
He's a bit of a mystery to everyone around him. They're all curious about him, but everyone is a little too intimidated to attempt to break through the barriers he's put up around himself. They admire him from afar, speculate about him, like him, but aren't quite confident enough to get to know him. He's protective, intelligent, vulnerable, always in control, and far too pretty for my own good. He's also completely oblivious and frustrating in some ways. You never quite know what he's thinking or how he's feeling, and when he tells you, it always takes you a bit by surprise because he's just so hard to read at times.
He's an endless source of fascination and frustration for Arionna... and is a whole heck of a lot like The Husbinator. The Husbinator has been my real life hero since I was a girl, and by a girl I mean twelve years old and starry eyed. So there's always a bit of him in every hero I write. I love the man to death, but I often think he was put on earth specifically to drive me insane. Arionna has a tendency to feel the same way about her hero.
And man is her hero one I love!
I have a thing for pretty guys. And by a thing, I mean I freaking love pretty boys. Drew Fuller, David Boreanaz, Peter Facinelli, Jared Padalecki, Robert Pattinson, Tyson Beckford... I love them all. Add a little butt kicking, a crooked grin, and a little vulnerability to the pretty boy mix, and I'm in magical boy heaven. It's a great place to be, and Dace definitely takes me there.
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| Rawr! |
All he needs is emerald eyes, a destiny, and a bit of a bad boy vibe mixed with that vulnerability, and you'd have Dace.
I cannot wait until all of you get to meet him, too. :)
See you tomorrow!
A.K.M.
Your title caught my eye. My main character in my SF series is named Dace. She picked it herself. Your Dace sounds quite different than mine.
ReplyDeleteJaleta, that's awesome. My Dace picked the name himself, too. I actually tried to change it a few times and it just didn't work out, which is just fine with me. It's a great name. :)
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