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A big CONGRATULATIONS to Goddesses Lori Austin (Lori Handeland) and Sabrina Jeffries for being named as RITA finalists for their historical romances BEAUTY AND THE BOUNTY HUNTER and A LADY NEVER SURRENDERS!
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Valentine’s Day is a day that we reconnect with our sweeties and think romantic thoughts. Now that it is over we can continue being lovey- dovey with our Significant Others, but being romance readers and writers, we also can go back to the other men in our lives. The Fantasy Others.
Fantasy Others are one of the appeals of romance novels, at least to me. It isn’t that I am cheating on my significant other when I read one. Not really. However, for a few hours I am definitely getting to know another guy really, really well. You all know what I mean.
Writers really depend on a well developed sense of the Fantasy Other in each of their stories. We live with these guys for months at a time. We need to fall in love with them. I distinctly remember when I realized I was not alone as a writer in this. I read an article in which a group of romance writers were asked to cast their latest hero. The majority picked Daniel Day Lewis. This was not long after he starred in Last of the Mohicans, in which he was buff, shirtless, long haired, and about 34.
As a writer, I have a very clear picture of each Fantasy Other as I create him. I don’t cut out pictures each time, but whenever I do I tend to cut out the same “type.” I was not far into my career when I realized that my “type” was not very British looking. If anything he was Mediterranean.
Recently I found the perfect Fantasy Other for my work in progress. <—— Since he was in a Polo ad, and since he did not really look all that Mediterranean, I thought that I had broken out of the pattern. Then I looked him up. Technically he is not Mediterranean. He is Argentinean, however. There may be some non-Mediterranean sourced DNA molding that face, but probably not a whole lot. (I should have known it too. Not just the dark eyes give him away; there is something about his mouth that is reminiscent of many of my other pictures collected over time.)
I used to worry about this as a writer. Will readers buy that this guy is an English duke if I describe his dark eyes and hard mouth and all those other characteristics? Won’t readers know I am cheating? I even gave a few of my heroes mixed ancestry to explain it. A father who was Greek. A mother who was Italian.
Thus do writers go looking for problems where none exist. I have had readers write to criticize all kinds of things about my books over the years, but not a single one has ever objected to my dark-eyed rather Mediterranean looking heroes. Maybe they don’t see the disconnect. Probably they are too busy creating Fantasy Others in their minds, who are their “types” and who fit the story close enough.
Do you picture guys from real life when you read romances? Do you have a favorite face that you attach to the heroes?
Have you ever cast a romance novel in your head? If so, who had the role of the Fantasy Other and what character from what novel was he?
What is your “type”? You can describe your significant other if you want 
One lucky commenter will be drawn to win a 5-pack of signed books and another to win a $40 gift card to the online bookseller of their choice!
Sometimes I try to picture the hero in my head based on the description of the character. Other times if the character reminds me of a celebrity, I will think of that person. Sometimes the description reminds me of a person in real life.
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:46 pm.
I go by the author’s description,it works for me.
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:46 pm.
I like it best when I can just make my own mental picture. Usually the cover picture is not the same. usually the cover picture does not fit the author’s description either. I understand that very few authors have cover approval. Either way, I can paint a pretty good picture in my head. But I must thank you, for creating the character and description for my palette in the first place.. Helen in Ark.
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:52 pm.
How interesting–no, I don’t usually cast romances in my head. My type is dark haired and usually tall — Pierce Brosnan, Adrian Paul or Matthew Bomer are actors I find good looking, LOL…
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:54 pm.
Frequently. First one would have been Mark Lindsay, circa 1970, as Brandon in Kathleen Woodiwiss’s The Flame and the Flower.
Yowza. Gettin’ hot just thinki’g about it…!
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:57 pm.
I don’t picture guys from real life when I read. I do have certain features that I tend to picture. I don’t normally have a complete, clear picture of characters in my head, more of general impressions.
Yes, I have cast a romance novel in my head. I was moved by the opinions of the other fans. The fans of Karen Marie Moning had some great suggestions for Barrons.
My type is a little more mature, muscular, smart, funny and a little sassy!
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:59 pm.
I have found that if I picture a real person as a character in a book it interferes with the story because what I know of the person competes with the author’s description. I like having the author create the character because it introduces someone I’ve never met before.
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:01 pm.
Dark-haired, tall and muscular is my type, although I don’t usually have a clear picture in my head as I read either!
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:13 pm.
I picture the actor Rufus Sewell.He fits your tall dark and handsome and I like the English accent.
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:14 pm.
I don’t usually picture guys from real life when I read romances. I use the cover to picture them in my mind, the Authors do such a great job in picking hunks on the covers! Works for me!!
Yesm oftern when I am sitting in a meeting, I write a story work related in my head, I alwasy take on all the male jerks in the room, with my hero who is always a Vampire type character, who helps me with the jerks, like Lara Adrians Men in the Midnight Breed Series.
My type, is very intellectual, very tall, dark hair and built. Strong but uses his mind to handle you not his braun unless he is protecting you.
Kretch1@
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:47 pm.
Dear Madeline, I like your taste in men. The Argentinean hunk in the ad you found is ideal for a British duke — past or present, he’s a fine choice for a phantom man. I also like Katie Myers’ choice — Rufus Sewell — VERY nice. I read in a magazine once that Brad Pitt might be considered one of the best looking men in the world but most women don’t fantasize about him. It’s probably a personal choice whom we each choose the hero to look like in the novels we read. I actually think we remember the guys we were attracted to when we first got the urge to want a man in a carnal sense. I’m going to age myself, but the first guy I was attracted to in terms of “I want to marry that man” is the 18-year old Andy Gibb. Since him, all other men have paled in comparison. I wonder how true that is for other women.
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:55 pm.
I like my fantasy hero to be tall, muscular with six pack abs. I love black hair and blue eyes with either fair skin or golden tanned. He also has to be intelligent. I can fall in love with any hero and picture individual features as described by the author. I usually do not have a full picture of a face in my mind as I read. I do not picture any real person. In my mind my heros always look as if they are in their late thirties.
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 12:06 am.
My husband is my hero. He is strong, caring, giving, loving, compassionate, forgiving, has a great sense of humor, and tells me he loves me more each day (after 39 years).
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 12:16 am.
Don’t want to sound like a wet blanket, but models annoy me usually. I love military guys (branch does not matter), firemen, and men with kind and intelligent eyes. And, Madeline, I love every single one of your heroes!! I usually just envision them in my mind without any completely defined picture.
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 12:23 am.
I rarely pictures real people while reading descriptions of heroes and heroines. I love tall drinks of water with green eyes.
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 12:38 am.
I sometimes think about real life guys when I am reading a romance novels they are usually random men who I have seen and developed an instant crush on. My favorite type of guy is one who works with his hands and tends to be alpha!
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 12:40 am.
It’s always a type. Tall, darker hair. Well built.
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 1:00 am.
I don’t usually picture real people when I’m reading, and I don’t really like casting celebrities as characters because a lot of the time they’re not like what I imagined.
And yes, I definitely have a type and it usually includes dark hair and eyes, older, and tall. Thanks!
jessicamariesutton(at)msn(dot)com
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 1:05 am.
I don’t prefer to narrow the field when I imagine the heroes of the romance stories that I’ve read. Give me the hair and eye colors of the heroes and I’ll be fine, though other traits (ethnicity like “Italian” or other descriptions like “patrician”) are acceptable.
I often imagine a romance novel, though the story in my mind isn’t truly a complete one, only major events are imagined, like an ex-girlfriend/boyfriend making an appearance in the couple’s lives and misunderstandings happen.
As for “type”…I DO have one, but I’ll leave it at that.
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 1:45 am.
I’m strange that way. I don’t picture a real life man when I’m reading or writing a fantasy other. I like to draw a picture from the author’s words and my own imagination. I even prefer covers that don’t show faces so I’m not influenced by the artist’s vision.
But everyone else I know likes to.
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 2:10 am.
When I read a romance novel, I never picture celebrities from real life. I just let my imagination take over and “see” the character the author creates. This year I tried writing a story of my own (for National Novel Writing Month) and I spent weeks gathering real-life images of various lead characters for my story. Later, after I got to know my characters, I watched some celebrity interviews on YouTube. My characters were nothing at all like their real-life models. One guy only talked about his body and how women love him, another actor was charmingly awkward. It took me a while to process my shock (“How can this be?”), but in the end it is definitely better because, well, you know, it’s fiction. I think part of the reason that celebrity personalities don’t live up to my fiction expectations is because actors …act. Maybe they have changed their look to fit a certain role and I just happened upon a photo of them during their work on a particular project. But maybe that look isn’t one that they would normally choose. In a way, it comes back full circle to the writers who have created characters for the actors.
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 2:29 am.
I have a few general images of men that I fall back on. I try to picture the character as the author describes him, but always seem to end up recasting the role with whichever of my fantasy men most closely matches the character’s personality. I just finished a book in which the hero is supposed to be blond and average height, but in my mind he was tall with dark hair.
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 6:54 am.
I ususally stay with the description in the book of the men that is of course unless its someone I dont like as hes portrayed. Sometimes dreaming of a handsome man sure dont hurt, it helps you feel loved and worthwhile for a little bit anyhow.
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:43 pm.
Usually I go with the author’s description. The only problem I have is if the heroe’s name is the same as one of my male kin!
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 6:09 pm.