Psychologist, daughter, sister, friend, single
lady looking for love, Pilar Alvarez has a lot of roles to play in my
soon-to-be-released Chick Lit novel, IN NEED OF THERAPY. Her career
really defines Pilar as a person. She is, and always has been, a fixer,
someone who sees a problem or conflict and wants to jump in and resolve it.
She genuinely cares about her patients, friends, and family members and
wants everyone to be happy. An optimist and an idealist, Pilar accepts
others at face value and strives to see the best in them, so her disappointment
is acute when she feels that someone has let her down. To paraphrase one
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pilar's "good opinion once lost is lost
forever."
Author’s Notes: I've always been fascinated by
psychology and even toyed with the idea of becoming a therapist myself. I
took several Psych classes in school, read Psychology Today religiously,
and doled out advice to friends like I knew what I was talking about! So,
it was fun to climb inside the head of a shrink for this book and explore how
she felt about her work, her patients, and what her job-related high points and
frustrations were.
Pilar may be smart, grounded, and good at what
she does, but that doesn't mean she takes herself too seriously. It was
important to me that the character have a good sense of humor about all the
craziness (both personally and professionally) in her life and that she have
flaws. She is fallible and she's the first person to admit that, which I
think is an admirable trait. She might be the most even-tempered member
of her highly volatile family (more on them in tomorrow's blog post), but the
fiery Latina inside
her does burst out once in a while, usually cursing in Spanish.
Pilar Quotes (non-spoilery): "Right, I wouldn't want a potential mate to know
that I have a functioning brain."
"You are such a liar! You weren't
paralyzed by my beauty for a minute, much less an hour!"
"I'm always pro-eating."
"It is possible for two mature people of the
opposite sex to have a platonic relationship based on common interests."
Casting: I always
pictured Pilar as beautiful, but not intimidatingly so. She's very feminine
with a curvaceous figure, long, wavy brown hair, and a friendly smile that invites
people to confide in her. I think Eva Mendes comes
pretty close to how I envisioned Pilar. She's appealing to both men
and woman, has a great sense of style, and sparkles with warmth and positivity.
