Inspirations--Paul McCartney!

Today is 6/18/08. It is significant to me for two reasons. First, it's Paul McCartney's 66th birthday. It's hard to overstate just how much I love Paul McCartney, and have done for the past eleven years. But to give you an idea, today is also my 7th anniversary. No, that's not a coincidence. I chose to get married on Paul's birthday (and walk down the aisle to Here, There, and Everywhere).

Inspirations - Firemen

Since we just finished our August Calendar Boys story about two firemen, Pepper and I have them on the brain. So to help with the heat of the approaching summer, we give you sexy firemen...
One of the things that makes firemen sexy? The thought of all that water washing over all those muscles...


We love this guy so much, we used him as the model for a new character who gets introduced in book 7 of the Master Chronicles...

Inspirations - Western cowboys

This week, Pepper and I have been working on our story for the gay cowboy themed pax due out in September at Amber Quill. It's about a bounty hunter and a stagecoach robber in the old west, and our growing love for these two characters has us thinking about all the men we've fallen for in westerns. So, in celebration of that, a few of our favorites!

Bale and Crowe as Dan Evans and Ben Wade in 3:10 to Yuma. Pepper and I both love this movie sooooooooooo much. It's got everything we love about westerns in it.


The quintessential western anti-hero. No list would be completely without at least one shot from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.


Bruce Campbell as Brisco County, Jr., One of Pepper's loves. I have to confess to never seeing this show. She's probably going to shoot me when she finds out.


Kilmer and Russell as Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp in Tombstone I'll bet Pepper can't even count how many times she's seen this movie. ;)


Ah, Newman and Redford. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. When I'm not about the gritty, I'm about the funny, and this movie has one of my all-time favorite lines ever in it.

Inspirations--Johnny Depp Part 2

Last week, Vivien posted several pictures of Johnny Depp, and they were good. But she didn't post any caps from some of my favorite movies!

First up, Wade "Crybaby" Walker from Crybaby.


Gilbert Grape from What's Eating Gilbert Grape?


William Blake from Dead Man


Ed Wood from Ed Wood


And two of Sands from Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Inspirations - Johnny Depp

When I went to visit Pepper, I took along my brand new copy of Sweeney Todd. Neither one of us got to see it in the theater, so we decided to experience it together. And what did it do? It cemented our Johnny Depp love.

I've loved Johnny for years. Not quite all the way back to 21 Jump Street, but certainly from Edward Scissorhands. While he was very poignant in that, the first movie that made me go "guh" over the man was Benny & Joon:

That Proclaimers song still makes me melt when I hear it.

Then there was What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, though honestly, I love that movie for how wonderful Leonardo DiCaprio is in it. But Johnny has a wide slew of roles that just make me love him...

Don Juan in Don Juan DeMarco
Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow
Roux in Chocolat
Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean
James Barrie in Finding Neverland
I could probably do this all day, lol. And I'll probably love his next role, too.

Inspirations - James Marsters

OK, so last weekend, I was at a convention. A sci-fi convention. Where I got to ogle pretty men and fangirl with online buddies for four days. But here's a confession. While I adore Brent Spiner and Leonard Nimoy is an icon, I really went for one other person.

James Marsters.

For those not in the know, he played Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I had never gotten obsessed with a TV show before, or really since, but Buffy was it for me. I absolutely adored that show. Still do. While I love the entire cast and the ensemble aspect of it, my love for vampires - especially ones dragged into being good - meant I fell hook, line, and sinker for Spike.

It wasn't just the leather pants and the British accent and the attitude...okay, it was a lot of that. But James Marsters in the real world had his own appeal...

But it's probably no surprise that the hair isn't natural. Even now, years after the show is over, he's still a gorgeous man...

Insipration--Toys

I was looking through Extreme Restraints, as I'm sure most people do when they're bored, and I came across two, well, favorites of mine. I mean, I don't own them and I never used them, but I sure like the way they look! The first is The Back Stockade (NSFW) and the second is The Gates of Hell (very NSFW!). I was so inspired by these items, I had to write something using them!

Check out Jesse's latest blog to find out just how Gideon would use those two toys on a very eager, and very willing, Jesse.

Inspirations - A Hidden Beauty

Yesterday saw the release of our Samhain title, A Hidden Beauty, so in honor of that, we're posting pictures of two men who inspired the physical characterizations of our heroes.

First up is Jefferson. Now, Jefferson is the older of our two poets, the more mature, the more jaded. Pepper had a very definite idea about who she wanted - Damian Lewis. He's a British actor who starred in Band of Brothers and Life.



Yes, that's red hair. We love it. He's not sexy in a conventional sense, but there's a magnetism about him that we adore. On Valentine's Day, Pepper posted a video of him reciting To His Coy Mistress. I have no idea how to embed the video, so follow the link and watch. It's amazing.

For Micah, we knew we wanted someone earthier, though Micah is from an upper class family. He's also younger than Jefferson by a decade, so that someone had to look a little more carefree, a little sweeter. We found the inspiration in someone we never expected, gay porn star Rafael Alencar. Believe it or not, this is the first picture I ever saw of the man, but it was finding this one that made us seek out his work.
It was the tousled hair, the bright clear eyes, that really captivated us. It wasn't until later that we saw just how good he looked without his clothes on, lol.

Thinking of these two just makes me smile, but then I have to admit, this one probably ranks as one of my all-time favorites of what we've written. It's one of the most romantic stories we've ever done. Hopefully one day, we'll be able to go back to them.

Inspirations - Querida

Since I brought up the book we're currently editing yesterday, I thought I'd share pictures of the model who inspired our 24 y/o Tonio Herrera. His name is Gianni, though I have no idea what his last name is. Of course, I forget my own last name after looking at some of his pictures.

Because two is definitely better than one, in this instance.

This model is a tad more intense than our Tonio. Our Tonio smiles a lot, and is a bit more playful. But still, brooding definitely works for this model.

I cheated and put Tonio in a pair of jeans like this, but can you blame me? Look at this guy!

Because hot men partially dressed in water is always good...

Inspiration--The British Isles!

Today is Vivien's day, but she's feeling poorly, so I said I would take over. This is a group project because I have my sisters searching for hot guys. Vivien requested Christian Bale, Jude Law, Gary Oldman, and Gordan Ramsey, and I'm adding a special Ewan McGregor bonus.

Inspirations - Brindisi Bedfellows

This Friday, we're flashbacking on one of our favorite stories, Brindisi Bedfellows, so Pepper and I thought today, we'd write about our physical models for the characters Trip and Christian. We've mentioned our model for Trip before, actually. It's gay porn actor, Johnny Hazzard.




He's not a big guy and he's adorably New Age-y on his blog, and has absolutely nothing in common with Trip other than his physicality, but we love him anyway.

But when it came to Christian, well, here's a confession. Pepper has a deep and undying love for actor Alexis Denisof.


I don't think it's possible to document just how much she adores him. If I'd let her do this blog, she would have forgotten completely about showing pictures of Johnny, in favor of giving it all to Alexis. In fact, I think the only two people who can possibly compete with Alexis are Jeff Tweedy and her husband.


And there you have 'em. Trip and Christian. And if Pepper doesn't like the pictures I chose for Alexis, well, she'll just have to share her favorites on one of her inspiration days. ;)