Pink Heart Society columnist Joss Wood is back to talk about her favourite sources of inspiration, because who doesn't like knowing who inspired who...?!
One of the biggest perks about being a romance author is that I get to do research on hot men…all in the name of being authentic! Does that make me sound as sound as shallow as a puddle? Probably, but that’s ok; writing is damn hard work and I have to take my kicks where I can!
But in all seriousness, I find it difficult to write unless I have a clear picture in my head of what my hero (actually all my characters) look like. So, yes, drooling over hot men is fun but it is also an essential part of the creative process. (I keep, very earnestly, telling my husband this but he hasn’t bought into the concept yet.)
When I write, I have a movie playing in my head and I can’t “see” the movie if I don’t know what the characters look like. That’s where Pinterest comes in and searches named “sexy males models”, “brown eyed blondes”, “hot guys”.
Sometimes I see a picture of – ahem – someone inspirational and send it straight to my Pinterest board “Gorgeous Hero’s” for future reference. I have a folder on my laptop also filled with pictures…just in case the Internet runs out of pictures of hot guys. Hey, it can happen!
The following are some of my favourite heroes and what I thought they looked liked. To get an idea of what I imagine when I write, take a look at my Pinterest boards at http://www.pinterest.com/josswoodbooks.
Cale from my first book, She’s So Over Him, was inspired by Chris Hemsworth who radiates intelligence and something a little darker in those gorgeous blues.
Cale is pretty much a dead ringer for Chris.
Hero number two is also one of my top two favourite characters I’ve created. Nick from Wild About the Man. I loved writing this story; possibly because Nick is a little broken, a lot tough and an African boy down to his toes. Love Nick; still crazy about him.
Nick is a combination of the late Paul Walker and Kevin Richardson, “The Lion Whisperer.” Very hot, super strong, flawed.
Noah from Flirting With the Forbidden is another hero who reached out and grabbed me by the throat. Flirting was incredibly easy for me to write and spending my days with Noah made me exceptionally happy. Morgan was fun and I adored her but Noah? Phew!
Noah was inspired by the very hunky Ryan Botha, a South African model and football star.
And I have to tell you that around the time I was promoting Flirting, Charlotte, my editor and I were talking about hot men and my hero inspiration on Twitter and I mentioned Ryan, without tagging him.
He, somehow, picked up the tweet and retweeted my gushing about how hot he was and the fact that he inspired Noah. Very embarrassing! I really do prefer to do my drooling from afar. Anyway, for your viewing pleasure… and you’re welcome.
I could spend the rest of the morning doing this but I’ll leave you with Finn, my latest hero from The Honeymoon Arrangement, out now on www.millsandboon.co.uk. Finn is only here because Ali Williams (PHS editor, contributor and all round sweetie pie), after reading The Last Guy She Should Call, asked for Callie’s story and I thought, yeah, good idea. The hottie below is Stuart Reardon, an English fitness model and professional rugby league football...
Ah, this was sooo much fun!
So who would you like to see as hero inspiration? Leave your comments below…
Joss Wood's latest book is available now, complete with hunky Finn! Read The Honeymoon Arrangement now:
‘Yes, I will be your fake wife!’
Travel journalist Finn Banning has bagged the honeymoon trip of a lifetime. The trouble is, after his world imploded two weeks ago, he’s now desperately in need of a wife!
Wild-child-turned-party-girl Callie Hollis needs to get out of the country and away from painful family memories – fast. Accepting Finn’s honeymoon arrangement is the perfect escape plan! She might have to pretend to be a loved-up newlywed, but it’s a strictly no-strings agreement. Except one knee-weakening, brain-melting kiss from Finn later Callie’s already struggling to remember what’s fake and what’s real.
And that’s before they’ve even started their ‘honeymoon’...
To find out more about Joss, you can visit her website and follow her on Facebook or Twitter.