FICTION CRUSH

by Linda Robertson

This week the Word-Whores are spilling their secret crushes on book characters.

*bites lower lip and fidgets*

I can’t honestly say I’ve had a crush on a fella from a book. Sure, I’ve read about plenty of hot guys—good and bad, but to lay abed fantasizing about a character or sighing like a schoolgirl as I imagine him kissing my lips…

Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

Don’t get me wrong, when I read, I’m into the story and the characters or I move on to another book. If I’m thinking about a book after I’m done reading it (or when not reading it during the time period between starting and finishing it), I’m picking it apart in my mind, going over how that author made me feel about the characters and what he/she did to evoke that reaction.

Movies, TV, and music videos, however, are another thing entirely. When the screen fills up with a living breathing actor who has all the physical qualities that I consider dreamy and they are portraying their character as the kind of man I could fall for…then yeah I can lay in my porch swing and slip into a daydream where I cozy up to that hunk all too easily.

Guess I gotta have a concrete visual image to crush on.

So what’s that all about?

In text, we authors can describe a character head to toe, but a hundred readers will see a hundred different people in their mind’s eye because those descriptors are put together in our gray matter based on our own unique experiences…or perhaps according to the cover art, or who we as readers want to cast in the role.

Speaking of which, I’ve been asked several times in interviews what actors I’d see in the roles of my main characters. The first time, I was completely stumped. I hadn’t picked actors out as my mental image setters. I did utilize my Photoshop skills and piece together a desktop that shows the main characters; when I boot up, I see ‘em. But I used models, not actors. Models have a look, convey a message with their clothing, body language, and especially their eyes. I didn’t want to risk my characters behaving like an actor’s other roles. To answer those “who would you cast” questions, I did give it some thought and I have responses now, but I didn’t change my desktop. Exception: Some secondary characters do occasionally get an actor’s picture clipped to their reference file, but a minor character has so few parts that I don’t feel they could be unduly influenced by an actor’s portrayals.

Recently, someone on FB asked if one of my characters was based on a certain actor who had the same first name. He wasn’t, but after looking up the actor in question I was rather impressed and had to completely agree. The dude could totally have been the character according to my descriptors of him. It was neat for me to see how she’d envisioned him (an actor from one of her favorite shows) and I’m so glad she took the time to ask.

But I’m digressing. (Sorry.)

So how about I give you my top four crushes when I was aged 15-18. Pictures of these guys torn from the likes of HIT PARADER, METAL EDGE and CIRCUS filled my walls during that time. These men were in magazines instead of books, but they were men whose words had impact on me.

4.) Steve Perry; JOURNEY

He just had something about him. Maybe it was the dark hair and eyes (always a favorite of mine….)or maybe it was that he always looked so happy when he was singing, and I can’t help but feel happy when I hear it. Maybe it was that he made singing look easy, or that brilliant quality of his voice.

3.) Kip Winger; WINGER

He was a HOTTIE. Tall (I assume), dark and handsome. There was an immense amount of musical talent in Winger, and its a shame that Beavis and Butthead took a dislike to them. They deserved better.

2.) Sebastian Bach; SKID ROW

Those eyes, that hair (the only blond on the list), that pout, that unstoppable voice. Skid Row had the angry bad boys band act down pat.

**Teenage swoon.**

1.) Stephen Pearcy; RATT

The dark hair, the dirty lyrics. Yup. I adored him. And I’m kinda embarrassed by that nowadays.

Mr. Pearcy, in hindsight, seems to lack the vocal prowess of the others on this list and it looks like life hasn’t been kind (losing rhythm guitarist Robin Crosby to AIDS, perhaps?) He’s still got those distinctive cheekbones, though. Mr. Bach’s pout doesn’t hold the same boyish charm anymore, though I hear from pals that his vocals still pack a punch. Would still enjoy running my fingers through that hair. It seems, after a mediocre skimming of the internet, that Mr. Winger is still in and around music as well. Good for him!

I gotta say, though, Mr. Perry’s smile remains radiant, and I dig it. I hope he gets back into the studio; he’s too good to not be performing and on the radio. I say that because of the four bands represented on this list, only Journey is in my iPod, and there’s a lot of Journey in there. ;-P

Rock on,

Your Hump-Day Word-Whore,

Linda