One of the most fun things about being a romance writer is that you can take people with totally different personality types, put them together, and see what happens.
In my February book (the third in my Wild Ride to Love series), I pair Indiana Jones and Ally McBeal. Well, okay, not actually. And no, I’m not talking about Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart’s real-life romance. I’m talking about character types.
Indiana Jones is fascinating, isn’t he? He’s a professor, so you’d think he might be a little stuffy and academic. And he is, but he’s so much more, because he’s also an adventurer who has a sense of mission. He’ll go into the jungle, he’ll even brave snakes in his single-minded drive (or might we say obsession?) to achieve his goal.
Mark Chambers, the hero in my February Brava, His, Unexpectedly, is a lot like Indy. He’s a dedicated marine biologist who has a strong sense of mission. He has devoted his life to saving the ocean and its creatures, and he travels all over the world to do it. Like Indy, he doesn’t spend much time goofing off, doesn’t have much of a sense of humor, and really needs to lighten up.
So, how do you lighten up a guy like that? You send him a free spirit. Someone who’s eccentric, vibrant, impulsive, passionate, charming, and a hell of a lot of fun to be around. Kind of like Ally McBeal.
Heroine Jenna Fallon thinks of herself as a butterfly, drifting from place to place, job to job, man to man, with no intention of settling anywhere. She’s definitely not stupid and she’s not a total flake – she helps autistic kids and surveys endangered species – but her life lacks the sense of purpose that Mark’s does.
Are you getting a picture of how much fun I had with these two? Of course they both had a lot of self-examination and growing to do, but they sure had a great time on their wild ride to love!
I’m thrilled that Publishers Weekly ranked His, Unexpectedly as one of the Top 10 Romances for spring. In a starred review, they called it “a contemporary love story sure to make readers go weak in the knees” and said, “Well-crafted story lines and richly observed characters bolster a strong erotic element in this delightful, memorable romance.”
I’m giving away a copy of the book to someone who comments. Talk to me about character types that appeal to you, ones that drive you crazy, books or movies that put interesting combinations together, or anything else that strikes your fancy! Tell me if you think Harrison Ford is a lot like Indy, and if Calista Flockhart is like Ally, and if they make a good match.
Here’s an excerpt from Mark and Jenna’s first meeting. Her car has broken down and she comes into Marianne’s Diner, sits beside Mark, charms him into sharing a slice of fresh strawberry pie (with whipped cream, of course), then asks him for a ride to Vancouver because she can’t afford the car repairs.
“Put it on a charge card.” He wasn’t a fan of running up credit, but that had to be better than hitching, or bumming a ride with a stranger like him. Not that he wasn’t boringly trustworthy, but Jenna had no way of knowing it.
“No charge card,” she said airily. “I don’t believe in them. If I don’t have the money to pay for something, I don’t need it.”
A good philosophy. And yet she believed in taking rides from strangers. This was one of the oddest women he’d met in a long time. Along with being the hottest and most bewitching.
“How do you know I’m not a serial killer?” he asked.
She grinned. “Serial killers don’t share pie with their victims.”
He frowned at her frivolity. “You just met me.”
“Your camper’s awfully cute.” She flicked her head in the direction of the parking lot.
He had to admit the Westfalia with all its environmental stickers looked pretty innocent. All the same, “Ted Bundy wore a cast and looked like the boy next door.”
She gave a long-suffering sigh. “Yeah, I’d probably have fallen victim to Ted Bundy. So, you’re telling me you are a serial killer? A serial killer who reads the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology?”
He snorted. “Of course not.”
Her eyes twinkled. “So we’re good, right?”
She was incorrigible and she’d bedazzled him. Suddenly doubting his own judgment, he asked, “How do I know you’re not a serial killer?”
She chuckled. “Good one. Just when I was thinking you were too stuffy for words.”
He was. Again, she’d misinterpreted his serious question as a joke. Or was she avoiding answering? “Are you insulting me so I won’t notice you didn’t answer the question.”
Another chuckle. Dancing eyes. “A sense of humor, and smart too. As well as having a great bod.”
Huh? Yeah, he was smart, but he didn’t have a sense of humor and his body was . . . functional. And, at the moment, lustful. She’d been checking out his body? Or maybe she really was a criminal and this was another tactic to put him off guard.
Jenna turned to Marianne, who’d returned with the coffee pot. “Marianne, what’s your opinion? Do I look like a serial killer to you?”
The older woman chuckled. “Honey, if you do that boy in, I don’t think it’ll be with a knife.”
“Not all serial killers use knives,” he pointed out. The statistical odds were against the pretty blonde being a killer, but all the same . . . “And, though most serial killers are male, there have been a few female ones.” The thought crossed his mind that if he fell victim to Jenna Fallon, he well might die with a smile on his face.
Love that excerpt, Susan. Your characters are so sharply drawn and such diametrical opposites. I’m so looking forward to HIS UNEXPECTEDLY.
Thank you, Mia! Of course Jenna and Mark do find they have a few things in common, and not just hot sex.
This sounds great, Susan. I must admit, I have a soft spot for marine biologist heroes! The character type that most appeals to me is the wise-cracking hero with a heart of gold. I’m thinking Dean of Supernatural, for those who watch the show. I love that he can joke about anything, but he never forgets his mission. *sigh*
Rosalie, I don’t watch Supernatural, but I do like the kind of hero you’re describing. A guy has to be a “good guy” (heart of gold) to be a hero, and I like the combination of a sense of mission plus the ability to lighten up and have a sense of humor. That’s one of the lessons Jenna teaches Mark in my book. He was raised by very strict grandparents who basically taught him that it was a sin to have fun – and Jenna teaches him differently!
Susan, I love these characters! I was laughing out loud while I read the excerpt and that makes a book a guaranteed good read, as far as I’m concerned.
Your choice of Indy ‘n Ally was great. I love both those characters in their roles, and you’ve done a wonderful job mixing it up with Mark and Jenna.
Thanks, Rachel. I did a lot of chuckling as I wrote this book. A little sniffling too, because there are some emotional spots as well. I think it’s always particularly poignant when someone who seems, on the surface, to be so carefree finally comes to terms with some deeply buried stuff from the past.
Loved the excerpt! I enjoy romances where the hero & heroine are complete opposites. They have very little in common on the surface but they relate to each other in some unusual way. I’m dating myself but I loved the main couple on NYPD Blue back in the day. He was a loud, rude detective & she was a gorgeous, smart ADA. They hated each other at first but fell in love anyway.
Stacie, I think the kind of pairing you’re talking about is classic. Lots of the old movies – like with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn – used that combo, and it worked so beautifully. And Bogart and Hepburn in The African Queen. Total opposites, lots of verbal sparks, and ultimately lots of passion and tenderness. It’s so much fun to watch a couple like that fall in love.