Now seeking photos of good-looking, possibly Mediterranean young men and women.

[mollyringle]

If THAT post title doesn't earn me some spam, nothing will. But it's true: I am seeking such things.

One thing that helps me in writing novels lately is to find photos of people who look about like my characters. They can be famous or unknown; doesn't matter. "Casting" the story this way often helps me bring the character to life a little more.

So for my Persephone-and-Hades novel in progress, I am taking applications--or more accurately, suggestions. Show me olive- or tan-skinned, dark-curly-haired, beautiful candidates for the two title roles. (In my version, Hades is more a romantic lead and less a scary kidnapper. Similarly, Persephone is more a charming protagonist and less a victim.) The tricky part for me is that they have to be pretty young, for I am writing this as mature YA. So, think age 17 to 25. I do not know much about celebrities in that age range anymore, for I am aging. Help an elderly woman here.

All set? Okay, go! Post photos!

Comments

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Sophia Loren comes to mind.

[archersangel.blogspot.nl (from livejournal.com)]

So, think age 17 to 25. I do not know much about celebrities in that age range anymore, for I am aging.
same here. i'm drawing a complete blank. even on ones that look like they're in that age range.

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

Are you familiar with http://hollow-art.com/ ? It's mostly used by RPers to find icons for their characters but it's useful. You can search by attribute - hair colour, ethnicity, age... It takes a bit of sifting but is pretty useful.

[pith]

Wow. The Persephone/Hades retellings are really popular, aren't they?

I want to say Odette Annable (nee Yustman), but I'm fairly sure she's not from that region. I know there's a female model that a friend has used for reference, so I'll try to snag the name for you.

[(Anonymous)]

I second Odette Yustman. I think she hails from Europe originally. Additio ally, I call the guy who plays Hal in "Falling Skies". I can't recall his name but he's got the Mediterranean going on.

Dean M.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Hadn't thought of her. Totally Mediterranean and sexy. Good thinking.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I may have to watch some teen movies. But I sort of shudder at the thought.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

I didn't know about that site! Cool. Have started browsing for ideas. Lovely. Thanks!

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm doing nothing original by retelling this one. (Though in my defense, I thought of it a decade or more ago, before knowing it wasn't original.) I hope this means there's a built-in fan base for such stories, much as with fanfiction. Heck, it IS fanfiction, kind of.

Odette looks good! I ought to add that these people don't have to *be* Mediterranean, just look it to a believable extent. It's only to inspire me, in any case, not a formal casting. Alas. :)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Dean! These are leading me to some lovely shots indeed.

[pith]

D'oh! After the fact, I realized that my retellings comment probably sounded snide. I'm very sorry. That wasn't my intention at all. (And for what it's worth, I know how you feel. I started writing a "supernatural boarding school" type YA about 12 years ago, and... yeah. The trend has come and is sort of going, so if I even tried bring it out now, people would say "Ugh, not another one!")

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Hehe--no worries! And you know, I still see supernatural boarding school stories coming out, even lately. Plus people continue writing vampires-in-high-school stories even though I'd have thought there could be no reason to write yet another of those. So we may as well write our own versions of popular things like those, if this means they're still selling. For surely ours will be better. :)