A picture is worth 1,000 words, or so the proverbial
they say. So other than a few brief explanations, I'll let the photos speak for themselves as to which pretties have inspired the characters of my dark erotic romance series,
The Eldritch Legacy.
Inga, the lead heroine of medieval fantasy
Secrets Revealed, was based on Milla Jovovich, who can convey sweet and sassy equally well. (Though I had to shave a few inches off her statuesque height for the petite Inga!)
Her captor, Lord Eldritch (affectionately nicknamed "Bane" as in "Lord Bane Eldritch" by my critique circle, since he is the one Eldritch boy without a first name) was inspired by a combination of two fictional characters, with some
Beauty and the Beast and
Phantom of the Opera thrown in for good measure. (Hey, it was my first novel...)
Just take the angst, inner conflict, and hotness of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader:
And blend that with the cool reserve -- and hot black leather armor! -- of Captain Etienne Navarre from
Ladyhawke as portrayed by Rutger Haeur:
The strong-willed, seductive Thelise was based on Gina Gershon, who like Thelise, encompasses beauty, brains, and balls all in one:
Moving on to
Lessons Learned, which follows the Eldritch family into my own twisted version of the Regency/Romantic Era, who better to base rogue Byronesque poet on than tall, dark, and handsome Shane Brolly, who hails from Ireland:
And what would a Regency rake be without his fair counterpart as secondary male and best mate? Stefan's would be Beethoven-inspired Klauss Von Alstyne, whose appearance is based partly on Julian Sands circa 1995:
As for the lovely women who go toe-to-toe with my dashing Regency boys, romance novelist Camille Rocheford looks a bit like the lovely Madeline Amchick. (Some of you will recall her as the actress who portrayed waitress Shelly on
Twin Peaks.
And how convenient that Asia Argento, on whom I based racy actress Nicolette Neville, starred in her father's steamy remake of
Phantom of the Opera with Julian Sands:
This brings us to
urban noir installment
Fates Fulfilled, where we meet the Eldritch family once again in modern times. For me, it was just a given that Fairuza Balk would be the perfect inspiration for bold and sassy goth girl Marissa Blackwell-Eldritch:
This is the first time in the series where we meet an Eldritch-born girl, so I had to pair Marissa up with a man worthy of joining the gene pool and holding his own against Marissa's hot Eldritch cousin, Devon. Hence my favorite secondary character ever, Gareth Neville, who is completely inspired by every beautiful bishounen boy I've ever loved in the manga/anime genre. I felt that Cillian Murphy (yes, another hot Irishman!) captures the androgynous "bishie" aesthetic perfectly -- pretty enough to be a girl, yet undeniably male:
Picture Cillian with glasses, then give him silver Sephiroth hair (yes, silver!!!) and you have Gareth Neville.
When I penned
Fates, I was on a My Chemical Romance kick. Lead singer Gerard Way really helped me get a grip on Devon Eldritch, my darkest and most conflicted character to date. That, and Devon has a penchant for wearing nice suits with snazzy ties:
Devon's love interest, fetish model Celeste Dupree, is another character inspired by more than one real-life beauty. I pictured her physical characteristics as resembling those of actress Sophia Myles:
But her funky, street chic style was wholly inspired by that of singer Gwen Stefani:
For those of you who've read the trilogy -- yes, Inga and Bane's youngest son has a book in the works. And the Muse is in luck, because Ville Valo of HIM truly, honestly, fits the physical characteristics of Trystan Eldritch to a tee. I guess when I leave off the beautiful body art, that will be my defense regarding that whole "resemblance to living persons is entirely coincidental" clause at the beginning of the book? ;)
And so there you have the pretties who've helped inspire
The Eldritch Legacy. Inspirations behind characters in my other works include Dave Navarro, Rose McGowan, Marton Csokas, and Keanu Reeves, to name a few. While I don't flat out envision my characters as these people (well, with the exception of Trystan), they definitely help me get a grip on offering physical descriptions that make the characters truly come to life, for myself as the creator and, ulimately, if I've done my job right, for you as the reader. :)
~ Katrina Strauss
Explore the darker side of love...
http://www.katrinastrauss.com/Labels: Katrina's Posts
A Puritan in seventeenth century America, Sarah is torn between her responsibilities to her family and her forbidden desire for her Indian lover, Takuwit. The town preacher knows of her lurid affair and blackmails her. But what he asks for payment she is unwilling to give. Her grown son threatens to cut off her monthly stipend unless she marries a man of his choosing, a man who repulses her. And Emily, her precious daughter-in-law is to give birth within days to a grandchild she may never know. ... more info>> (Published: 2007) 
And, this picture is great for that goddess-fix...
