Cover art by Jess Small
First, thank you so much to Love Bytes for giving me space today! I really appreciate it!
I am not the only author, I know, who has a “dream cast” for their book. Most of the time, for me, the cast comes pretty early in the writing. I knew who Tanner and Finley of Devotion were very early. Likewise for the characters of Patience and Devotion. Forgiveness took a little longer because the pictures in my head didn’t immediately match anyone I knew—famous or not. But match them, I did.
For Miguel and Luis of Hope, however, I didn’t have anyone for a very long time. In fact, it was written and (mostly) done before I could put real life faces to the characters in my head. It doesn’t help that I struggled a little because both Miguel and Luis, like Ben of Forgiveness are Mexican. All three have families who grew up in Mexico and came to the United States as adults, so they are first generation and, thus, look very Mexican.
I spent quite a few hours pouring over artists and actors before Luis jumped out at me. I’d been scrolling through pictures and was just about to give up with this guy popped up and finally made me sit up and take notice.
Luis is kind of shy and quiet unless he’s very comfortable around the people he’s with. With Miguel, his mate and best friend, of course, he’s plenty open. He’s also the younger of the two of them (by not quite a year). On top of that, he comes from a family who is still very rooted in their traditional roles, with a very strict father. Luis’s family still speaks Spanish exclusively at home, making things a bit more difficult for him when he’s not there.
Miguel, on the other hand, is quite outgoing and almost the opposite of Luis. He’s more comfortable around people he doesn’t know. And it’s easier for him to get used to new situations. This comes in large part because his family is more open. They spoke English at home so he would have an easier time talking to the humans at school and getting used to using it when he wasn’t at home. His family, while straight, were not nearly as traditional in their opinions as Luis’s family was.
That said, I still wasn’t sure who would make a good Miguel. I had to do a bit of digging with him, as well. It’s a lot harder to find a person to match a pre-conceived idea than it is to find someone first. Seriously! But after a long hunt, I discovered Ryan Guzman and decided he looked enough like Miguel.
What do you think? Do you like knowing what the author has in mind for their characters? Or do you prefer to come up with your own mental images?
Thanks again to Love Bytes for the space! Hope you enjoyed seeing my boys!
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Hope, part of the Forbes Mates series
Length: 13,000 words
Genre: m/m paranormal shifters
Miguel Garcia and Luis Rodriguez have been best friends all their lives. For the last year, they’ve been hiding the fact that they’re also destined mates. When Luis’s family finds out, they kick him out. Miguel’s family would keep them… except their alpha has been known to be downright violent against gay wolves.
With the help of Miguel’s mother, they set out to find a pack that will accept them. They run into more that a few obstacles before they end up in Denver, at the national wolf headquarters, meeting the alpha prime. They’re stunned to find, not only offers to join more than one pack, but that their struggle can shine light on a bigger problem–and make things better for LGBT wolves across the country.
Hope is available on September 6, 2019 exclusively at Amazon and on Kindle Unlimited.
And check out the upcoming blog tour appearances below!
Grace Duncan grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age – many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.
A gypsy in her own right, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children – both the human and furry kind.
As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics. She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance and other erotica or even dabbling in art.
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