By Meri Allen/Shari Randall
In Saturday’s post, Rosalie Spielman introduced you to some of the characters in her new book, WELCOME HOME TO MURDER. I thought it would be fun to introduce you to a few characters in my upcoming Ice Cream Shop Mystery, MINT CHOCOLATE MURDER, and show you the inspiration boards I used for them on Pinterest.
Confession: I’m a very untidy writer. Scrawls in notebooks, scraps of paper, pages torn from glossy magazines, Post it notes, cryptically named computer files (“book ideas” – note to self, be more specific) are part of my process. Pinterest has proven to be a good help in keeping my characters, or at least their appearances, straight.
As is true of any social media, Pinterest is a blessing and a curse. It’s a time sink. Start scrolling through the unending stream of images there and you’ll see what I mean. When I decided that I wanted a fantasy ice cream social in MINT CHOCOLATE MURDER, I went down the Pinterest rabbit hole and emerged two hours later with dozens of photos and an appreciation for the artists who use ice cream as their medium. Ice cream tacos? Thai rolled ice cream? All-black charcoal ice cream? Gelato roses? It’s all there, and a lot of it went into the book (and my stomach).
Look at that ice cream!
Here are a few of the inspiration boards I used as I cast my characters for the Ice Cream Shop Mysteries.
For me, Courtney Cox has always been my vision of my main character, librarian turned ice cream shop manager Riley Rhodes. She’s attractive, intelligent, down to earth, a girl next door type, friendly and open, but with an air of reserve.
Penniman’s handsome veterinarian, Dr. Liam Paul? In a perfect world, he’d be played by Idris Elba.
Katie Kadan, who vaulted to fame on The Voice, is my model for Riley’s frenemy sidekick, the “loosest lips in Penniman,” police department secretary, Tillie O’Malley.
Riley’s best friend, Caroline Spooner, would be played by Flashdance era Jennifer Beals. Those warm brown eyes and wonderful waterfall of hair are just what I pictured for shy but strong-willed Caroline. I don’t have her picture on the board because I have her so strongly in mind.
No spoilers, but if you’re wondering why Sam Elliott and Ed Sheeran are on the boards, they are the models for characters in Book One, THE ROCKY ROAD TO RUIN.
In MINT CHOCOLATE MURDER, Riley is invited to create treats for a fantasy ice cream social at Moy Mull, a castle built in the early 1900s by a Scotland-mad Penniman industrialist. The castle, modeled on Connecticut’s own Gillette’s Castle, is now the home of reclusive former supermodel Maud Monaco. I had groundbreaking supermodel Beverly Johnson in mind as I wrote the character, but several beta readers have told me that they thought the character was based on Meghan Markle (for reasons you’ll discover in the book – no spoilers here!)
The handsome dark-haired guy? Again no spoilers, but he’s trouble.
The cats? The spunky little black cat with a clipped ear is Rocky, Riley’s rescue. The white fluffy Persian is Sprinkles, a former show cat with the disposition of Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard. I had no idea how much fun it would be to write feline characters!
If you'd like to see more idea boards, you can check them out on Pinterest @sharirandallwrites.
Writers, how do you keep track of your characters’ appearance?
Readers, do you use Pinterest?
Shari Randall writes the Ice Cream Shop Mystery series as Meri Allen. As Shari Randall, she writes the Lobster Shack Mystery series and has written short stories in the Destination Murders and Chesapeake Crimes series.
