Looking the part...at least at first

Yesterday, I started my next project, an m/m steampunk erotic romance that I haven't titled yet. One of the things I always do before I start anything is get mental pictures of all the characters. I need the visual of them before I can put a single word to paper, otherwise, they're not real to me. Most often, I go combing through photos I've found online or I pick an actor-type to model the character on. These physical similarities often change as the story progresses (or there's a physical characteristic I know is necessary for the hero/heroine that isn't present on the model), but there is always a starting point.

With this particular story, there are two heroes. One is an ex-military pilot with a guilt-ridden conscience who sets out to do the right thing the wrong way. He's the center of all my angst in this, so I wanted someone intense, not too big but buff and dangerous anyway. This is how he's starting off:

I've adored Jeremy Renner since he played Penn on Angel, so seeing him finally getting recognition the last five years or so has been great.

The other hero is my engineer. He didn't start out that way, so I wanted to play against physical type by having my brainiac look like he should be beating up the bad guys instead. I also knew his family is originally from Belize, so that helped me pick out...

...David Zepeda. My guy is a little rougher around the edges than this, less clean-cut, definitely dirtier, but he's my springboard for where I start.

I think they're going to be hot together. I can't wait to get into the meat of this story.