Today the spotlight shines on…………………….Chase Randal and Dominique Lawson
MaryLu Tyndall forged new ground with her Legacy of the King’s Pirates Trilogy and I will be spotlighting those characters soon. MaryLu’s fourth novel, The Falcon and the Sparrow, once again showcases her effortless characterisation and her love of adventure and romance. It is available now from Barbour.
Over to you, MaryLu:~
Admiral Chase Randal
Physical Description:
Chase is an imposing man. Tall and large boned, he fills out his admiral uniform quite nicely. His eyes, the color of dark chocolate, are constantly perusing everyone around him, assessing them and the situation as if he were out at sea facing an enemy. He wears his dark, reddish-brown hair tied behind 
him in a queue, and when he enters a room, he seems to fill it with his masculine presence.
Whenever I think of Chase Randal, a picture of Russell Crowe in his role as Captain Jack Aubrey in the movie Master and Commander comes to mind. A gruff, commanding leader of men who feels more comfortable on board a ship than at home. But beneath the rough exterior lies the heart of a true gentleman yearning to be loved like everyone else.
Strengths:
Courageous, Decisive, loyal, Intelligent, confident
Weaknesses:
Moody, grouchy, bitter and weak in his faith.
Quirks:
Chase has insomnia. He wanders the halls of his London Townhouse all hours of the night, plagued by nightmares of his dead wife.
Inspiration for the character:
I simply love male characters who appear all tough on the outside, almost frightening in their gruffness, yet on the inside they are wounded little boys who desperately need help. I believe we have many of these sorts of men in our society today. They put on a façade of independence, of “you can’t hurt me”, but inside, their hearts have been deeply damaged. Chase is a man with a broken heart. He has turned his back on God and prefers to run away to the sea and forget about his past, his life, and his son. That is, until Dominique shows up on his doorstep and turns his world upside down!
Background for the story:
Dominique’s only brother is being held hostage by Napoleon’s men who have threatened to kill him if she
does not spy on Britain for them. Being half-British and the daughter of a British admiral, Dominique has no trouble procuring a position as governess in the London town home of a British Admiral who sits on the Admiralty board. All she has to do is steal valuable naval documents and pass them onto the French, and her brother will be saved. If she gets caught, however, not only will her brother die, but she will face the gallows. Simple, eh? But what Dominique didn’t count on was falling in love with the Admiral and his son.
Dominique Celine Lawson
Brief Physical Description:
Dominique is average in height, petite and thin. She wears her long chestnut hair pinned up in regency style around her face with ringlets of curls dangling about her neck. Her eyes are brown with sparkling flecks of yellow that set the hero’s heart aflame! 
I always pictured Dominique looking very similar to Jennifer Garner: tall, sleek and yet with an inherent innocence. She’s attractive but she doesn’t know she is. She has no idea how to use her feminine charms to her advantage. In a room full of people, she tends to hang back in the shadows and go unnoticed. She does not carry herself with a great deal of confidence, but people enjoy her company because she is refreshing and straightforward.
Rel: Jennifer is proving to be a popular model for many female lead characters!
Strengths:
Strong faith, extreme loyalty to family, determination and perseverance
Weaknesses:
Timid, fearful, and unsure of herself.
Quirks:
Unlike most people whose stomachs sour when they are nervous, Dominique becomes ravenously hungry under stress. You’ll find her eating at all hours of the day and night, consuming everything in sight and never gaining a pound. Can’t stand her!
Inspiration for the character:
I wanted to cre
ate a character who isn’t like the typical heroine I read about in many romance novels. You know the type: brave, strong, defiant, and bold. Dominique is none of those things. In fact, she is quite timid, easily frightened, and insecure. In many ways, she is like me. I wondered what would happen if I placed her in a very harrowing situation—a life and death situation in which she would have to risk not only her life but her brothers as well. And to top it all off, she’d have to do something that went against her loyalty to her country and her Christian principles.
Fabulous, MaryLu ~ thank you so much for this insight! We look forward to
more spotlights from you soon!
MaryLu and I would love your comments on this spotlight!
On Thursday, I’m thrilled to be spotlighting our first character created by a male author ~ Eric Wilson’s Gina Lazarescu from his recently released novel, Field of Blood.
It is a really fascinating spotlight! Don’t miss it 🙂
Relz Reviewz Extras
Review of The Falcon and the Sparrow
Interview with MaryLu
