Character inspiration from my Pinterest Board
I’m asked all of the time about my characters and where I find inspiration for them. Honestly, you can find inspiration anywhere, but I tend to lean on Pinterest to find my characters. Sometimes I see their personalities first and then try to find an image that matches, but that’s unusual for me. More often than not, I find the portrait first, and then let it speak to me.
I have a Pinterest page where I keep all of my character inspiration (check it out here), but for this post I’m going to concentrate on Unearthed’s characters.
Let’s start with the big two: Reus and Ashlyn.
This picture of Reus is one that I found while I was still writing Adrift. I think it suits him perfectly! (just add blue skin and white hair) He’s laid back, hair in a messy man-bun, shirtless, and seems like he’s on the verge of smirking.
Ashlyn was also easy to find. I found these two pictures before I began writing Unearthed and knew immediately that this was my leading lady. She’s tall, thin, has glasses, has her blonde hair hastily pulled back, and is dressed in casual clothes. (she doesn’t have time to mess with something as trivial as hair and clothing styles!)
The rest of the family took a little bit of looking. I knew I wanted Conall and Oliver to be red-heads, so that’s what I searched for.
This image of Oliver is spot-on (although maybe a couple of years young for our 10-year old… but maybe not). The model seems pensive, and a little bit sad- perfect for our young lad.
This image of Conall spoke to me. Again, the age is a little off, but I really liked it. The pose is outwardly strong, while I think Conall’s strength comes from his spirit of character.
The parents- I have a soft spot in my heart for Clare. She’s a fiesty red-head, and definitely the
matriarch of the MacLeod family. I try to stay away from my characters resembling a well-known figure, but Molly Wesley wouldn’t leave my mind. Especially in the book when she says, “You could have been seen!” Classic. Anyway, Mrs. Wesley refused to be replaced with another character inspiration, so in the end, I went with it, and with her.
Artair– he has a sort of quiet leadership within the family. He lets his wife lead, while he sits back and observes. But when he does speak, everyone listens.
This is how I picture him. I know the man in the photo is from a tv show or movie, but I’m not familiar with it so I thought it was ok to use the photo for reference. 🙂
I hope that helps you all see my characters as I do! I add to this Pinterest board with every new book, so make sure to follow it so you don’t miss anything!
Comments (0)