Welcome to another Round Robin with a fantastic set of
authors I met while being a part of the Night Writers blog. Just follow the
trail for some interesting tidbits on the subject of meeting real-life
characters, how they are or aren’t different from preconceived notions, and how
they might be bigger than life. Would you put them in your books?
Living in Vienna, I am surrounded by real life characters.
Everywhere I walk or look, there is a character staring back at me. From the
statue of Strauss to the Russian memorial, there is or has been someone very
important walking the steps I’m taking on a daily basis.
I’ll be honest, I had some preconceived notions of the
historical people and places that are in Europe. I have to say some of those
notions are true and some are far from it. Take the last Empress of Austria,
Elisabeth commonly called Sisi. She’s known as the reluctant Empress because
she loathed the decorum and the pomp of being a royal. I found this completely
fascinating as most royals who lived during her time loved the lavish lifestyle
and found it suited them.
Not so with Elisabeth. She detested the situation as she
felt she was sold into slavery by her arranged marriage. Another fascinating
part of this woman was the fact she was assassinated in 1898 by a man who was
looking for the fame of doing something important.
This woman shattered all my notions about royalty in an era
of indulgence. While she did keep a low profile, she also seemed acutely aware
of those beneath her in station and abhorred the class situation as a whole.
Many of her views were not unlike most royals today who feel that their lives
are in service to and for their subjects.
While in the states, I have met my share of famous people
who were real life characters in themselves. Some were so eccentric that it
made me wonder just what was wrong with Hollywood or other venues that support
this type of weirdness. Sorry, folks, while I do believe to each their own, I also
believe some things are downright strange and never should see the light of day.
Lifestyles are extravagant and some are just downright eccentric. I’ve been
disappointed many times by thinking they were one way only to find them not
even like what I’d thought. Some changed my views on fame so totally, it made
me wonder if pursuing the bestseller list was even a good thing.
Yet, with all these people I’ve seen, met or just
researched, I know I would use them in my own books or base someone else on
them. Currently, I have started two separate series. My series, A Taste of
Vienna, is all about being here in this interesting and some days fabulous
city. The first book in this series, A Viennese Christmas, is available now at Smashwords, Amazon, Nook,
All
Romance eBooks and more.
Another series I’ve started is Hollywood hunks based upon
what happens when a small town boy hits the A list in Hollywood. You can look
for this one is the near future at one of my traditional publishers. I’ll keep
you posted.
Now let’s keep this round robin going. Please go to Connie
Vines blog and see what she has
to say about the subject of meeting a real life character.
Thanks and see you all next time!
Lynn
