Kimberly Menozzi, Author
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Thursday Thirteen: 13 Characters from 27 Stages

13/10/2011

16 Comments

 
Picture
Well, now I'm getting back to serious work on my WiP, I thought I'd share some of the visual shorthand I've been using while creating it. So please, allow me to present to you:

Thirteen Characters from
27 Stages

1) Federico "Ciccio" Renard - cyclist (AltaVeloCidad).

Although he's half-French and half-Italian, the inspiration for Federico comes from both a Swiss rider and an Italian rider, who happen to be two of my favorites: Fabian Cancellara and Daniele Bennati.

Picture
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2) Abigail McGann-White - amateur photographer.

Abigail is another character with a split nationality.
Her father is American, her mother is British. Born in the US, she's lived in England with her mother since she was seventeen. Now forty years old, Abigail is dealing with a number of issues of identity and working to determine what she wants from her life. My visual inspiration for her is harder to pin down, but this stock image made a good starting point:
Picture
3) Jerzy Jankowski - lead directeur sportif/team manager/Svengali for team Alta VeloCidad. This was another instance where I saw a photo by chance and thought: That's the look, right there. Of course, Polish actor Łukasz Simlat is much, much younger than Jerzy, but the photo below shows some of the intensity I picture every time I write about the team's boss.
Picture
4) Charles White - Abigail's husband, a barrister in the UK. I'm sure quite a few readers, should they see this, will be rather displeased with me. LOL! But I thought Colin Firth was a perfect model to build Charles on - particularly since he has that "proper" air about him at times, but could also have a slightly "deviant" side, too, as Charles does.
Picture
5) Heinrich Brunn - cyclist (AltaVeloCidad). Brunn, a German cyclist, was much harder to pin down. I had more of an "archetype" in mind when he started taking shape, but there was one cyclist in particular he seemed to resemble - at least, physically. No matter, this is fiction after all.
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6) Romuald "Robaczku" Brodowski - cyclist (AltaVeloCidad). When I saw this photo of French actor Stanislas Merhar, I knew I'd found my Rom.
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7) Adrie "Major" Meijer - cyclist. Athough he's a different type of rider, and a different nationality, Italian Filippo Pozzato (to my everlasting chagrin) has similar physical attributes to Austrian super-domestique Adrie. Temperamentally, however, I don't think they could be farther apart. LOL!
Picture
8) Jurgen Schlessinger - cyclist (Maxxout). This character is probably Federico's strongest competitor in the sport, and still he is someone I have a lot of sympathy for. In my mind, he's the also-ran always struggling in Federico's wake, a sort of Salieri to Federico's Mozart, if you will. (I'm seriously considering a short story from his POV, too.) He's played in my mind by Gerald Ciolek.
Picture
9) Solange Melo - model, former "podium girl", Federico's fiancée. I don't know the name of the girl in the photo, here, but she's a podium girl for the Tour de France. Solange is a model just starting to make waves, but her ambition proves to be a bit too much for Federico's taste.
Picture
10) Pascal Savreux - professional photographer, French, an acquaintance of Abigail's. From the start, I've had in mind a Vincent Cassel-type, just a little rounder and a little softer 'round the edges. The fact he's closer to Abigail's age makes him an appealing potential disruption to her plans.
Picture
11) Alvaro and Teodoro Mendoza - twin brothers, Spanish, cyclists (AltaVeloCidad).
Almost in spite of myself, I wound up picturing the Haedo brothers (Sebastian and J.J.) when I wrote these characters, even though they aren't twins (thank goodness). There are loads of brother acts in cycling, though.
Picture
12) Philip Mason - cyclist (AltaVeloCidad). Welshman Geraint Thomas is a good fit for Philip, a British rider with a bizarre sense of humor, which is shared with his roommate, James.
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13) James Bradford - cyclist (AltaVeloCidad). Alex Dowsett was another rider who came to mind when writing many of the scenes when the riders are off the road. There's just something about his facial expressions which came to mind during James' and Philip's cutting up at various points in the story.
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And there you have 13 Characters from 27 Stages - my current Work in Progress.























I think you might agree there's a little something for everyone in this story, eh?



























And if not, well, c'est la vie!
























At any rate, I hope to include something that'll please a few of my regulars.
















After all...






















I'm a giver!

Picture
Mathis Streitwieser
Ciao for now!
16 Comments
Stephanie Adkins link
13/10/2011 06:53:48 am

Wowwwww ... that last picture is just .... wowwwww! Although I admit I did see his body first, I have to say he has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. *sigh* Just dreamy. Happy Thursday!

Reply
Caridad Pineiro link
13/10/2011 07:03:02 am

Thanks for sharing your characters and how you picture them. I'm very visual also and always have pictures I cut out to help me describe them in my books.

Reply
Adelle Laudan link
13/10/2011 08:08:46 am

I love hearing how different authors fashion their characters. But, I especially love getting to the end of your posts *yummy

Happy T13!

Reply
Paige Tyler link
13/10/2011 09:53:02 am

Sounds great! Love that you included pics to go with the characters! Oh, and I love the eye candy!

*hugs*
Paige

My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/

Reply
CountryDew link
13/10/2011 10:12:02 am

I hunt up pictures for my characters, too. It really helps!

Last fellow is *very* hunky.

Reply
Darla M Sands link
13/10/2011 10:27:14 am

Nice! I've never actively sought pictures for my characters but can see how it might be of service. Happy TT!

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Alice Audrey link
13/10/2011 10:33:48 am

You're a great giver. Thank you.

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Heather link
13/10/2011 02:22:18 pm

That last picture... WOW just doesn't seem quite enough. *g*

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janbrowser@yahoo.com link
13/10/2011 03:44:16 pm

I enjoyed looking at the photos that inspired your latest MS. Good luck with it.

Janice~

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Harriet link
13/10/2011 04:37:58 pm

He's got my vote.


Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!
http://harrietandfriends.com/2011/10/what-peeves-you-at-work/

Reply
Xakara link
13/10/2011 06:27:04 pm

I swear by pics for my characters! I absolute loved seeing yours :)

Happy T13,

~Xakara
<a href="http://xakara.livejournal.com/115261.html">Foods For Breast Health</a>

Reply
angel link
13/10/2011 10:22:46 pm

Cool post with pics. I like it. I can picture my characters in my head, but to actually find a pic that resembles them, not so much.

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Shelley Munro link
14/10/2011 12:40:40 am

An interesting and very attractive cast of characters :)

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Robin L. Rotham link
14/10/2011 01:39:33 am

Okay, looking at that last photo makes me feel very old and dirty. I love it! :D

Reply
Jennifer Leeland link
14/10/2011 06:28:58 am

OMG. I usually have a tough time finding pics for my main characters! And here you've got almost EVERYONE.
That's impressive.
I love this, Kim. I can't wait for this one to come out.

Reply
Jeane
16/10/2011 06:38:09 am

Kimberly, I think it is so great that you posted pictures of people who seem to be your characters in your story or have that look, the character of what you have in your mind of the characters you will write about. Writers and readers all do it, so it was nice to see them before reading the story. The people you chose and the little explanation for each of them.... well it sounds very good. I am sooooooo curious about the story now!!!!! And thanks for the eye candy:-)

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    Kimberly Menozzi

    Author. Happily Married. Survivor of life with two deranged kitties.

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