How I Found My Resolutions Characters

People always ask authors where they come up with their characters. Are they based on people we know? Are they based on characters from favorite (or not so favorite) television shows, movies, or even songs? Are they fashioned after our celebrity crush?

I thought I’d share how three of the characters from Resolutions came to life for me. I use the same steps with most of the books I write.

 

Once I’ve decided my character’s personality and physical traits, I like to find a real life version to keep me on track. Knowing what my characters look like makes it easier to envision the scenes as I write. I try to find actors/actresses or people in magazines, who fit my idea of the story’s characters. Occasionally as the book progresses, I may have to make a few adjustments to match changes I make in the story. No matter how hard I try to stay on target, my characters have a way of taking over sometimes.

In Resolutions my hero, Mac, came to life as a result of my love for military-type heroes. I especially love the alpha male hero. In my opinion, the more alpha the man is, the better. And who doesn’t like to see the hero fall in love and change his ways a little to please his woman? I gave Mac a tragic background and was ready to ‘cast’ Mac. I ran through my mental list of beefy male specimens—Yep, a hard challenge, but a job I was willing to take on. I chose one of my favorite celebrity crushes as my visual inspiration. Hawaii Five O’s Steve McGarrett, played so well by Alex O’Loughlin was my choice. I kept his picture (shirtless of course) near my computer screen while writing Resolutions. Maybe as a reward for sticking to my writing goal each day? What do you think?

Alex O’Loughlin./Mac

I like the idea of black ops type companies that operate outside of the box when needed. Resolutions Inc. definitely meets the requirement. Mac is the alpha hero who always gets the job done by any means necessary. What could possibly top my hunky alpha male, Mac? A whole team of hunky alpha males! The men of Resolutions, Inc. rock. By introducing multiple operatives I’ve left the door open for this to become a series. I already have a file full of possibilities to use for the Resolutions hunky heroes. I over-used the words hunky and alpha intentionally. A man can never be too much of either.

 

Sarah Shahi/Eve

My heroine, Eve was a little harder to dream up. She had to be emotionally strong enough to walk away from the love of her life, Mac, when he gives her an ultimatum she refuses to live with. She had to be physically able to kick some major ass and go up against the bad guys during multiple battles. Making her a DEA agent on the IDEA Task Force was a good fit and provided her with the training in both weapons and hand to hand combat. Lastly, Eve had to have a soft side to make her more likable. A softness that a man could fall in love with and want to protect at all costs

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One of my favorite female leads on TV is Sarah Shahi. You may know her from Person of Interest or Fairly Legal. She pretty much fit the bill for my heroine, Eve. If you’ve ever seen her in action on Person of Interest, you know she’s very believable in the role of Shaw. I had no trouble seeing Sarah Shahi as a tough, sarcastic Eve with a pinch of softness thrown in for good measure. I kept her picture near the computer, too. Unlike Alex, her shirt remained on in the photo.

Sullivan Stapleton/Cade

I based my Resolutions’ character, Cade, on Sullivan Stapleton from TV’s, Strike Back, and most recently the movie, 300. Sullivan was the perfect choice for Mac’s partner. Cade’s character provided the comic relief in the Resolutions’ story, was Mac’s voice of reason, and undoubtedly one all-around good looking guy with a mysterious past to be explored. I’ve outlined his story already and soon I’ll have his picture next to my computer. 

At the end of the day, I’m basically a celebrity-crush junkie when I dream up my characters! I hope you enjoyed the photos of my dream cast as much as I did while writing Resolutions.

 

Until next time,

Teri Riggs