James, Michael and Charlotte

Now I’ve been writing these stories for long enough, and the odds are, if you’re reading this, you have been reading them for long enough, to be familiar with the written descriptions of Charlotte, her dark-eyed Dom, James, and her ‘Golden Lover’, Michael.

However, it occurred to me that you might like to know a bit more….

Why Did I Write this Post?

I live in Spain, and some while ago, I commented to my partner (who reads and enjoys my stories) that I occasionally see ‘James’ walking around here. If you have read the story so far in ‘Mastering the Virgin’ then you know that James is Spanish on his mother’s side, so it is to be expected I suppose, that I would occasionally ‘see him’ around here.

I made the comment as a casual remark, but my partner’s ears pricked up and I was…. instructed is not too powerful a word…. to point ‘James’ out the next time I saw him.

Anyway, over the New Year, I was with my partner at a bar down in our local town, enjoying the sunshine and a beer, when ‘James’ walked past us, then took a seat at the next table. I nudged my partner. “That’s him.” I’ll not tell you about the conversation that followed…. lol!

However, it did cross my mind that fans of James, Michael and Charlotte might like to know a bit more about the three of them, and about some of the other characters from the stories, and where they exist in my head.

It’s a common piece of advice for writers, when trying to ‘construct’ a character, to hold an image in the mind of some well-known face; a celebrity, a film star, singer or similar, so that it is easy to be consistent in your descriptions of the character. And I thought you might like to know whose images I use for this.

Richard Haswell (‘Bought by the Billionaire’)

Let’s start with billionaire Richard Haswell. It’s an easy one for me, because he was almost the first character I wrote about and he was lifted whole and entire from a movie; ‘Pretty Woman’. Picture Richard Gere playing ‘Edward’ in the film, and you’ve got Richard Haswell.

And I suppose his relationship with Vivian in the movie, is not that different to his relationship with Beth in the deal that he makes with her; to be his ‘Beck and Call Girl’ until it comes that they fall in love and he eventually marries her.

Lawrence Klempner (The Virgin and the Masters)

Klempner, the ‘man in the black hat’ from ‘The Virgin and the Masters’, who’s hell-bent on revenge against Charlotte.

Again, for me an easy one, because once more in my head, I lifted him whole from a movie; ‘Die Hard’.

Picture Alan Rickman playing the criminal Hans Gruber – you’ve got Klempner; the harsh good looks, the evil temperament and the glorious voice all combined into one magnificently villainous package.

His voice incidentally, before we lost Alan Rickman in 2016, was one of things that attracted me most to him. You can see him as Gruber in this excerpt from ‘Die Hard‘. If you want to see the full movie, you can find it here.

Now for the three main characters; James, Michael and Charlotte: I don’t have a single image in my head for any of them, but Michael is the easiest.

Michael – The ‘Golden Lover’

Looks-wise, Michael is a composite of two people: the young Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Which you prefer yourself probably depends on your age group. Myself, I am of an age that grew up with and appreciates both these gentlemen.

Either way, you have the smile, the casual masculinity, the easy manner and the glorious golden blond hair. Look out for them in ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ or in ‘Meet Joe Black’

James – Charlotte’s Master

My image of James is also a composite. Think of a Mediterranean version of Gregory Peck. I was watching him over the weekend in ‘The Guns of Navarone’. It’s an old movie, but I still enjoy watching the man in action with his dark good looks, his casual elegance and ‘a voice like wild silk’ 😉

Then throw in some Antonio Banderas (he played, for example, Ché in the movie version of ‘Evita’). Voila! James.

James has not just Gregory Peck’s general appearance, but also that beautiful speaking voice; a deep, cultured tone that makes anyone sit up and pay attention and makes ladies ‘grow warm’. You can hear the voice and see the man, in this Johnny Carson interview from 1977. It makes me weak at the knees every time I hear him.

Charlotte ‘The Virgin’

Charlotte is the hardest to imagine. With her red hair, green eyes and perfect figure, it’s not easy to find a look-alike, let alone allow for her dynamic personality, so…

You watch ‘Doctor Who’? Remember Amy? Her utter loyalty to those she loved, her ‘Can-Do’ attitude, her fighting spirit, her ‘sod-you’ determination to do what she believes to be the right thing…

Now picture the feral love child of Amy and Lara Croft.

Throw in the attitude, the lack of fear and the absolute refusal to back down in the face of adversity: Charlotte.

So, now you know. When you read more about the Threesome, play any of the photos or movies I mention above in your head, and you’ll soon see the scene playing out as I do.