Speaking of being penetrated . . . .

(that title refers to something I said in my last post). Someone who read the ARC of Once Upon A Project (and loved it, I might add!) told me that she kept hearing the voice of comedienne Wanda Sykes as she read dialogue from the character of Grace, because Wanda is so down to earth, like Grace. (you'll meet Grace here on my blog on March 1st.) I thought that was interesting, but I'll share a secret with you: As I wrote the book I kept visualizing three of my four main characters as actresses:

For Grace, the twice-divorced former teen mother who completed her education and became a highly successful P.R. Director who is still looking for lasting love, I pictured Lynn Whitfield.

For Elyse, the happily married suburbanite whose dreams of a happy life of the empty nester (you'll meet her April 1st) are thwarted by her husband's listlessness, I pictured Alfre Woodard (maybe with a little padding, since Elyse is supposed to be chubby, at least in the beginning of the book.)

For Susan, the biracial woman whose breast cancer surgery sent her marriage on the rocks and drove her into the waiting arms of an old flame, I pictured Lonette McKee.

I never did get a clear picture of an existing person for Pat, whose new romance is threatened by her emotional attachment to her old love. Maybe Debbi Morgan, or, as my mother calls her, "the pretty one with the dimples."

Funny. Debbi Morgan is my mother's favorite contemporary actress, with Lynn Whitfield a close second (Mom still calls her "Josephine" after her part as Josephine Baker). My late former mother-in-law was crazy about Alfre Woodard. I wonder if they're both subliminally influencing my thoughts?