Meet Dante Andretti, the Prince of Calida in my current Harlequin Romance release PRINCESS AUSTRALIA.
The idea for this story sprung from one picture, that of a scruffy, unshaven Adrian Grenier (of Entourage fame). I hadn't heard of him nor watched the show but the minute I saw that picture I thought it screamed 'bad-boy'.
Now, bad boys are more suited to the Modern Extra romances I write but I really wanted to use this inspiration to write a Romance so what did I do? I thought of what would be the opposite of a bad-boy...and came up with an uptight prince bound by responsibilities!
Once the idea for my prince gelled, the rest of his profile followed.
Dante is a guy about to be crowned prince of his tiny country off the coast of Italy (my fictitious Calida) His bossy mother, the queen, is pushing for him to take a bride and solidify his position in the monarchy but Dante needs a break and travels to Melbourne, supposedly on business, but in reality wants to visit his sister Gina and 2 year old nephew Paolo.
Dante plans a week of blessed anonymity and to do this, he enlists the help of the concierge at Telford Towers, the hotel where he is staying. (More on the concierge and the Towers later this week!)
For me, Dante is ruffled, sexy and charismatic (and yes, definitely inspired by the pic above!) Romantic Times describes him as a 'dashing hero' and I have to agree :)
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