Pictures speak louder than words

Osiyo,

I've been thinking about inspiration in my writing this weekend. I can sit with my eyes closed for hours and imagine my characters. What they sound like, what their hair looks/feels like, how their eyes look when they laugh, what they feel like, and most of all- what they look like.
My heroes seem to always-always- have a deep southern accent. Sometimes they might have a gravelly voice, deep and rough, or just an average tone (I think of Chase Bishop with this), a voice that drawls slow and deepens in passion or anger- but on the average he sounds like the boy next door we all grew up with. I love dark haired men vs blond or red. Most of my heroes will have dark, or very dark, brown or black hair. Sometimes its longer than acceptable in society these days (I grew up in the 70's-80's when long hair on men was IT) but not tacky long. I think of Chase with a hair style similar to (from my favorite band!) Gary LeVox; Rascal Flatts lead vocalist, only darker. I'm still looking for a picture that captures Chase and the image I have in my head. But I have one that is very close.
Real estate mogul living an ordinary small town life. He doesn't flaunt his wealth because he doesn't need to. People know who he is, they know what he does and his successes.

Meet real estate agent- 5' 11 1/2", 207# of brawn and brain, Chase Bishop, 29 years old, single, wealthy, sexy.
(I had pictures of both h/H but it wouldn't load my blog with them in.)

Now that I've covered the man of my current dream, let's see who he has his violet gray gaze pinned on and his heart lost to.

When I think of the ladies, I think typical girl next door lovelies. Usually darker hair, though not always (one sub character has blue streaks, or red, orange, green- whatever her mood), because the heroine in this love story has magnificent dark auburn hair in curly ringlets of disarray. She's got Irish heritage and it shows in her light complexion and big green eyes. I imagine my heroines as around 5.2-5.6 tall and (usually) around 110-130#. She isn't perfect, though the hero always thinks she is. Like you and I they both have faults and blemishes (inside and/or out). But they are respectable, honest, people. Always. Even if they don't seem so at times. Hey- we all slip now and again. Don't judge.

I haven't found the perfect representation for Kelly yet. After all, it's not easy finding someone with her description-and pregnant. But I came close with a toss up between two.
The first I picked is Model, Kate Dobo.
Then, there's Model Aviva. Young, fresh-faced, and (I think) just what I'm looking for in a 'girl next door' presentation. Except she's not pregnant.(I actually imagine Kelly with a little more meat on her bones, but this is a great likeness.)
So...Let me introduce you all to clothing entrepreneur and cat sitter- 5'5", 138#, 5-month-pregnant, Kelly King. 26 years old, single, surrogate baby receptacle who steals the real estate mogul's heart.

Now I just need to get to their HEA and get their story in front of an editor!
Of course, sitting with my eyes closed doesn't get any words to paper- so I don't sit day dreaming for hours. But I think inspiration is key to any good book and whether it's pictures to gaze upon, or music to write by, we need that key to unlock the doors of creativity.

Today it's pictures, images of the heroine and hero.

Tomorrow? Maybe I'll listen to some tunes and see what feels like Kelly's song. After all, what gal doesn't like to have 'her' song?

Dodadagohvi