June 9, 2006 | Delicious, writing
First, let’s talk about why Ewan McGregor makes a perfect hero.
He is charming. He is confident. He is talented. He is outgoing. He is adventurous. He is Scottish. (They, whoever “they” are, say that Mills & Boon won’t take Scottish heroes in contemporaries, and I was determined to prove “them” wrong.) He has a good sense of humour. He has the most dazzling smile, even more so because his teeth are not Hollywood perfect. He is gorgeous and has this really cute dimple in his chin. He does not mind getting naked. He has a huge light sabre. I, personally, would do him at a moment’s notice.
Therefore, my hero for Delicious, Angus MacAllister, resembles him. Not in every particular–Angus is taller, and has darker hair, and a more muscular physique.
When I revised Delicious, I had to deepen Angus’s character. My second rejection, from Mills & Boon, said that he was too arrogant, and also that he seemed to have little internal conflict. So I decided to soften the arrogance to self-confidence (accompanied by genuine charm, which is the talent of being able to put people at ease), and I decided to explore why he became a celebrity chef, and why, at the start of the novel, he is seeking publicity and fame–in a bid for the approval he’s never had from anything else in his life.
As the novel is set in a school, I looked at his school life first, and decided to give him a good reason to hate school. This, I figured, would give him conflict right away. I thought about the implications of being famous and popular, and how it could tempt someone into also being superficial. I decided that Angus wasn’t superficial, deep inside, but he’d neglected his emotional life for so long that he needed reminding of it.
All of this gave him conflict, and a character arc, and ensured that Angus would learn from his relationship with Elisabeth, and be forced to examine his own motivations and lifestyle.
I also decided to echo Angus’s conflict in other characters: Christine, his publicist who is focused purely on work; Danny, the once-bullied teenager who turns to deliquency just to fit in; and, of course, the chickens, which represent a nurturing side of Angus he has tried his best not to acknowledge.
(Angus and a chicken, especially for Michelle.)
An interesting side-note about writing a hero called Angus: Word’s spell check does not recognise the name and suggests it is a misspelling of Anus.
Note: for related posts, click the Delicious link, below.
Kris Starr says:
I must admit, I really rather fancy Ewan as Obi-Wan. Even with the facial hair, of which I am generally not fond, I’d still try to tempt him to the Dark Side in a Coruscant minute.
This is not in any way to be construed as an attempt to steal Ewan. Honest. *g* Nor is my use of Cillian as hero material in my last novella. *That* was completely unexpected.
Michelle Styles says:
I think the Light Sussex is a very good looking bird.
It goes without saying about Ewan…
Julie says:
I don’t mind the facial hair; it’s the really really bad hairdo that’s a problem. But hey. Who cares. He’s wearing tight trousers and knee-length boots and he’s a Jedi. That’s good enough for me.
Thanks for the bird identification, Michelle.
Julie says:
Oh, and Kris? I love you, but CILLIAN IS MINE.
Got it??
(Can I read the novella?)
Anna Lucia says:
Angus is taller, and has darker hair, and a more muscular physique.
I got a huge laugh out of imagining Ewan reading that and being really put out….
(Michelle’s right about the chicken. Being good looking, I mean. I, alas, am unable to identify domestic fowl)
Julie says:
I only made him taller and more muscular because it’s standard for romance heroes. And with dark hair because I was watching Moulin Rouge, where he’s got dark brown hair. In reality, you can’t improve on Ewan. The man is perfect.
Karen says:
I love that pic of Ewan kissing a chicken (or the Light Sussex). It’s actually pretty sexy. I can see why you wanted to incorporate the chicken into the story (if indeed this picture was inspiration).
Julie, did you ever watch that reality show where Ewan went all over the country (I don’t know which country - oops) on a motorcycle with his friend? They keep showing it on the Fox Reality channel I have, but I’ve never watched it.
I loved Ewan as Obi Wan. Way better looking than Alec Guiness! Though Alec was a wonderful Obi as well….
Olga says:
Indeed, he’s great in Molin Rouge, and I’m glad you traded arrogance for self-confidence and added more of internal conflict - it will make a better hero!
Kris Starr says:
Julie, darling dearest, I DON’T WANT CILLIAN. It wasn’t my idea for him to be the Hero! It just…happened.
I’d planned for someone else to be the hero — like, William Petersen or Orli, but it just didn’t work in my head.
(And yes, you may, if you don’t mind the unedited version…)
Biddy says:
Mmm Scotsmen!! Yum! You know how I feel about them
Julie Cohen » catch-up thank yous says:
[...] If you check out this blog post about Delicious, you’ll see how I designed the secondary characters to be echoes of the hero and heroine. [...]