A couple years ago I started reconnecting with old friends,
and more than a few former boyfriends, on Facebook. These things go in waves.
You find one person who is friends with other people you once knew and next
thing you know some guy is messaging you out of the blue and talking about how
you were the first girl he ever kissed. How embarrassing when you don’t
remember either him or the event.
Anyone who has read my books has surely guessed I was a tart
in training in my long ago youth. Once I met my true love that path dead-ended.
I’ve been mostly happily married for nearly twenty-three years. We’ve been
together twenty-eight and I’ve been faithful the entire time, sometimes to my
great frustration. But that’s not what I want to blog about.
When told of my writing profession, one of those old
boyfriends passed on a question from his wife. Had I ever used him as a model
for one of my heroes? The answer I sent back was a fast NO. I’m not sure if she
was relieved or offended, but the subject dropped right there.
Lately I’ve been thinking about that. What I should have
answered was, I’ve only used a boyfriend for a hero once and that book is not
published because it’s really bad. It was the first manuscript I finished and
it will never crawl out from under the bed. Of the other men I once dated, I’ve
only used the one or two I had bad breakups with as villains. Those are the
ones who should be shaking in their shoes!
So ultimately, I feel the wives of my former beaus should
feel blessed when they don’t recognize their husbands in my books. As for my
husband, he sees himself in every hero I write, and rightly so, as he’s my one
true hero and always has been. And if one or two of my heroes have certain
features, well, I do throw myself into research (Facebook) and find inspiration
for my hot men in many places (the pics posted by women more dedicated to
searching sites for pics than me). Of course a certain type of man will capture
my interest more than others. Can’t be helped. Just hope my readers agree.
If you write, where do you find inspiration for your heroes?
If you’re a dedicated reader -- just let me say I adore you -- what types of heroes attract you most?
Morgan Q. O'Reilly
Romance for All Your Moods
http://morganqoreilly.com
