It’s Wednesday again, and I’m back from vacation. I was good and didn’t do any writing, editing, or beta reading for a whole week. I did do some reading just for fun, though, and spent time with my family up in the hills of West Virginia. Good times.
I’m introducing another character (finally!) this week. The scene actually takes place before the one I posted last time, just as Micah arrives at the lake house. I knew when I wrote this character that he absolutely needed to be a redhead, but I was at a bit of a loss for how he should look. One of the things I do in preparing to write is browse Google images for people who resemble the ones in my head. I then use a private board on Pinterest to save the pictures (it’s not public because of copyright issues; I honestly don’t care if people see it, but I don’t like to infringe on photographers’ rights, and Pinterest is questionable).
Anyway, while searching for a good image, I came across the work of a photographer who did a project on red-haired men. Apparently, many people consider red hair unsexy. I find that strange, as I think red hair of all shades, on both men and women, is gorgeous. Also, I adore freckles—I think they are very attractive. I couldn’t quite figure out how to describe this character’s hair, though, so I’m open to suggestions. I’m picturing something like a more vibrant strawberry blond, but I’ve never heard a guy described using that term before.
For the very curious, here is the link to an article featuring the photographer’s work. My character is an amalgam of several of the lovely guys in the photos.
Now for the snippet. WIPpet math: 4/23 = 4 + 2 + 3 = 9 sentences.
A voice behind him said, “Hey, there.”
Micah nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around slowly and came face-to-face with a gingery-blond young man. He was average height, perhaps an inch or two shorter than Micah, and was considerably on the thin side. There was a dusting of freckles across his pale skin, and he had a row of small hoops down one ear. In the other ear, he wore a dangling earring that looked like some kind of leaf. He had on a trendy pair of tight, black knee-length pants and a fitted white t-shirt with a rock band logo Micah didn’t recognize. His gray-green eyes were wide and held a spark of mischief, and his mouth curled upward in a charming smirk.
For a moment, Micah was disarmed, but he quickly recovered himself so as not to be caught staring.
And there you have it. Don’t worry, New Guy will be back next week. Meanwhile, go read the other entries. If you want to add your own, just post a bit of your current work-in-progress, making sure it involves something about today’s date. Thanks to K.L. Schwengel for hosting. Happy reading, everyone!
