Harper Bliss

Lesbian fiction

Fantasy Casting ‘A Lesson in Love’

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UPDATE: NO LONGER PASSWORD PROTECTED.

Fantasy casting is a big thing for me.

Perhaps because I’m such a pantser, characters are always what propel a story forward for me, and it really helps when I can see them in my head (and imagine them doing certain things… being a lesbian romance writer really is a tough profession.) 😉

Quite a few readers like to have their own picture in their head of the characters they read about, which I totally understand. If that’s what you prefer, don’t scroll down!

Here’s who I based Helen Swift and Rory Carlisle on:

Laila Robins as Helen Swift

Charlotte RileyCharlotte Riley as Rory Carlisle

Suffice it to say, I had many a happy writing day picturing these two gorgeous ladies romping around Oxford and Upper Chewford (and other places)! 😉

French Kissing Fantasy Casting: Marie Dievart

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SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t read French Kissing: Season Two yet and plan to, you may want to skip this post. (Although I won’t be giving away major plot points, but just in case…)

Doctor Marie Dievart, the sexy, ĂŒber-confident neurosurgeon was too entertaining a character to just send back to Belgium (ha ha!) after Season One. She’s back in Season Two and, of course, her presence is shaking things up quite a bit.

From the first time she made an appearance, Dr. Dievart was Kristin Scott Thomas in my head. I haven’t written Season Three yet, of course, but I’m seriously considering making the sexy neurosurgeon an even more prominent character. (Imagine the drama she could cause?)

Kristin Scott ThomasWho will Doctor Dievart go for next?

Kristin Scott ThomasNadia never really stood a chance…

600full-kristin-scott-thomasShe can even dreamily almost-smile…

Kristin Scott ThomasMaybe I’ll have her dye her hair blonde in Season Three…

Previous fantasy casting for the other characters can be found here >>

French Kissing Fantasy Casting: Stéphanie Mathis

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Full credit to my wife, who fantasy-cast CĂ©cile de France as Steph. It works out well in so many ways! Most importantly, she has that boyish charm and effortless, nonchalant elegance. I can just see her holding court at the bar at Les PĂȘches, possibly sneaking into Le Noir… Or, perhaps not entirely as planned, on her way to Dominique.

Admittedly, it would also be a bit of a disgrace to not fantasy-cast (is that a verb now?) anyone French in a serial called French Kissing set in Paris. Not that I have with CĂ©cile de France, because she’s from Belgium. Ha! Okay, that didn’t make any sense. Although CĂ©cile de France is from Belgium, she is super famous in France and might as well be French. (There is no work for her in Belgium, anyway.) (And her surname is ‘de France’.) Either way, no matter where she’s from, she would make an excellent Steph.

CĂ©cile de FranceIf she thinks she can summon me… oh, what the hell. Taxi! Palais Bourbon, s’il vous plaĂźt!

CĂ©cile de FranceBack in the day, when Steph just started at Barbier & Cyr…

CĂ©cile de FranceI know, I let her top me again…

This concludes the fantasy casting. Truth be told, apart from Steph, the names of these actresses appeared next to the names I gave my characters back when I was making my first notes months ago. All five of them have been in my head, doing all the things they do in French Kissing, for quite some time. For those of you who follow my blog, it may make for more interesting reading in Season Two! 😉

French Kissing Fantasy Casting: Dominique Laroche

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Yes, I’m keeping Steph’s fantasy casting for last (but only because she seems to be the hardest to pin a face on.) So, let’s do Dominique first. As you can see, the character of rising political star Dominique Laroche is based on an almost-real politician: Birgitte Nyborg.

At Casa Bliss, during that week about a year ago when we binge-watched all three seasons of Borgen, all we talked about was Birgitte Nyborg (and Kasper and Katrine… do yourself a huge favour: watch Borgen!) I may even have chosen to insert a bit of politics in French Kissing just so that I could have a character inspired by Birgitte Nyborg (and, yes, sometimes I do wonder if I shouldn’t just write fan fiction). 😉

Sidse Babett KnudsenI’m conservative, but not that conservative…

Dominique LarocheOh god, what have I done? (And when can I do it again?)

French Kissing Fantasy Casting: Nadia Abadi

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It’s not because I have a serious soft spot for Juliette that I don’t recognise that Nadia is the real hero of their relationship. Maybe it’s unhealthy, or co-dependent, or just very lesbian, but Juliette needs Nadia. In fact, most characters in French Kissing need Nadia. She’s not free of mistakes—no one is—but she’s not afraid to speak her mind and, e.g., set Margot straight. (I won’t go into detail to avoid spoilers.)

Who better to portray such a wise, warm, righteous woman with a hidden dominant streak than Saul’s wife? I know, it’s a disgrace that I didn’t even know who Sarita Choudhury was before I swooned every time she got a few seconds of screen time on Homeland (but I’ll definitely be watching Kama Sutra this week!)

Sarita ChoudhuryYou can’t exactly tell by looking at her, but we all know what she’s thinking (about doing to Juliette…)

Sarita ChoudhuryOh Nadia, I, too, have tried to give up wine numerous times and have never once succeeded. 

So, now that I’ve revealed both ‘my’ Juliette and Nadia, how do you feel about their last sex scene in Episode Six? 😉

French Kissing Fantasy Casting: Juliette Barbier

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I love all ‘my ladies’, of course, and I hope they all come across as complex and interesting as I intended them to be, but as far as understanding of and compassion for a deeply flawed character goes, I’m firmly in Juliette’s camp.

Based on reader reactions after the first two episodes, Juliette was the least favourite character, because she does have a sense of entitledness about her and she does make the wrong choices and, more often than not, says the wrong things to Nadia. On an emotional level, half of the time, Juliette has no clue what she’s doing, despite being a control freak. But she has a big heart and she means well, she’s just not very good at expressing it most of the time. This probably makes her the most ‘real’ character I’ve written.

Oh wait, this is a fantasy casting blog post, not an ode to Juliette Barbier. 😉

For me, Juliette = Gillian Anderson.

Gillian AndersonI’ve had dreams about Juliette & Claire, but it was always crystal clear that it could never work out. 😉

Gillian AndersonMost likely NOT discussing work again at Barbier & Cyr…

These fantasy casting blog posts are so much fun. Can’t wait to introduce you to ‘my Nadia’ tomorrow… 😉

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