Where the Characters Live

I like pictures when I write. Lots and lots of pictures. Images of my hero and heroine are the most critical, of course, but there are a few others that can be wildly important. Like where my characters live and what their homes look like.

Usually I can search around and find one house that has everything I need. Like the Lake Tahoe hideaway where Ryder took Langley in Wicked Obsession.

I even spent time searching for Langley's condo. In the original draft, part of the prologue took place in her condo, so it wasn't as if I had no plans to use the information, but since the scene was in her Point of View, I didn't need much detail. We don't think much about things we see every day. But I even have floor plans of her condo although that was overkill.

For Wicked Intention, my upcoming romantic suspense novel (and part of the Paladin League), I did need to know what my heroine's home looks like, and since the first scene in that space is in Finn's Point of View, it was going to need to be more detailed. He uses the appearance of her home to try and figure her out.

Only this time I couldn't find one house that fit Finn's heroine. She lives in a condo in Los Angeles, so I started there. None of the condos worked. Most were too dark, too masculine, or too fussy and didn't fit her at all. I expanded to homes in LA. Still nothing that really worked.

I search homes for sale, so it could have just meant that no one with the right condo/home was selling when I searched.

Next I searched Palm Springs, CA and I found her great room! Kitchen, family room, and dining room. It actually was kind of unexpected because there were bright pops of color I didn't know would be there. This is why I like pictures. Not only did Finn get some insight into her personality, so did I. I knew her really well already, but her surroundings added another facet.

A different house gave me the guest bedroom. I haven't found a master bedroom yet that really fits, although I have one that's close, and no office yet. I might expand my search a little farther in Southern California and see what turns up.

Will I need all these rooms in the book? I doubt it, but I like having the images anyway.

Shifts

Last week I talked about the hero and heroine who have stayed stubbornly silent, frustrating me endlessly. After talking it over with a friend, I've shifted the books in the trilogy around and I'm starting with a different h/h. This is the second time this particular series has had the books shifted, so I'm hoping this time it sticks.

Since I managed to pick up some stupid bug that's left me under the weather, I decided to do some pre-book stuff for my new h/h. I didn't need to look for pictures of them--I already had those--but I did need to know where they lived and what kind of cars they drove.

I started on the houses first. It's really fun to look at real estate, especially in the millions of dollars price range. Neither my hero or heroine own a house like that themselves, but the leaders of their respective groups do.

It actually didn't take too long to find a house that fit my heroine's leader. The hero wasn't quite as easy, but the house I found fit almost exactly what I'd seen when he and his father took a long walk and had a serious conversation. It was a total WHOA! moment when I saw that yard and the view that matched my vision.

The only drawback on the mansion was while there were a ton of pictures of the grounds and exterior, there were comparatively few indoor pictures and none of the bedrooms. I'll wing it when the time comes if it's necessary. It might not be.

I moved on to the cars next, and I confess, I didn't spend a great deal of time on them. The hardest part was figuring out what type of car they'd drive. Pickups and SUVs didn't feel right for my hero, but when I checked out Ferrari and Lamborghini, those weren't right either. I hit pay dirt on Aston Martin. The Vanquish. He liked the bronze color. I would have figured him for bright red, but that was a big no.

The heroine is classy and elegant and her car was relatively easy to pick out. Mercedes. CL65-AMG. I had to look that up because I don't remember numbers, but it's expensive and sporty.

Now to let the things I learned gently percolate until I shake the virus I've picked up.

It's All In the Plan

I've talked before about how I need pictures of my heroine and hero before I get too deep into a book. I've also talked about how I've started printing out calendar pages and keeping track of what chapters take place on which days. It's a huge help for staying straight on the time frame. But I don't think I've ever mentioned my use of home plans.

I know there are authors who sketch out their characters' homes and even authors who buy computer programs to sketch out homes, but I never saw the point in that. I have a site bookmarked that has thousands of house plans available, and when I start a new book, I go looking for the right house. Sometimes it's not an easy search. Logan's home in Edge of Dawn took a good deal of searching, but when I found the right one, it was beautiful. Not only did I have the plans, but there were also pictures of the house built and furnished. Totally not Logan's style at all, but yet totally right for the book. As it turned out, Logan didn't care what his house looked like inside, he just loved the property and the garage.

Last night, I went looking for Kel's house. Kel is the hero in the Work In Progress (WIP). And I managed to find his home on the first try. (I did look at a few more, just to make sure I was right, but that first house was it.) Unlike his brother, Kel's house is Kel. It's smaller than Logan's place, homey, and has a lot of outdoor space. Kel doesn't like the walls closing in on him. No pictures of the place decorated, but knowing Kel, I'm sure it's done simply and comfortably. That's a guess, though.

Very little of the story takes place in Kel's home. I think they're there for about one scene and then it's on to the next location, but even if the h/h don't return to the house at the end of the book (I don't know if they will or not), I still like to know. The house says a lot about the person and the insight into Kel's character was interesting. I wouldn't have guessed he was into such a homey type home, but as soon as I saw it, I was like, yeah. That fits him.

So there you go, one more obsessive detail that I cover before I get too far into a story.