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Note:
Characters were inspired by Michael
Praed in either the artist's or the
author's mind,
and therefore their characters resemble him to a greater or
lesser degree.
However, they were not intended to be Michael Praed.
Cover artwork which Michael Praed inspired
Characters which Michael Praed inspired
Click book to read summary and author interview
Books which mention Michael Praed
Note:
Some of the references in the "Mentions" category allude
to Michael Praed's
acting career, or the impact of some of his performances on the social
landscape.
Click books to go to this category
Click books to go to this category
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'Magic's Promise'
Cover by
Jody Lee
© 1990 DAW Books, Inc. and Jody Lee
Mercedes Lackey
Author
Inspired by Michael: Vanyel (artwork)
in the
The Last Herald-Mage trilogy
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The hero of Last Herald-Mage fantasy trilogy ('Magic's Pawn', 'Magic's Promise, 'Magic's
Price') is the exceptionally beautiful youth Vanyel, who doesn't fit in with
his hale-and-hearty provincial family. He prefers playing music in the
bower to crossing swords with the family weapons master. After a frightening
confrontation with the fight instructor who suspects his trainee might be
gay, Vanyel is sent in disgrace to live with his
aunt in the city. Under the tutelage of the magician and her student Tylendel, Vanyel
discovers his latent abilities. However his gifts come with a price.
This is a heartrending story of loss, duty and love. ~~~
The relationship between a character and Michael Praed couldn't be made
any clearer. In 'After
Midnight', a short-story published in the
30th Anniversary DAW Fantasy Anthology,
author
Mercedes Lackey described Vanyel's appearance as "the spitting
image" of Michael Praed. Actually, the
trilogy was written before the author was aware of the actor. It
was the books' illustrator, Jody Lee, who drew inspiration from the features of
Michael Praed to capture Vanyel's remarkable beauty. Readers of the book
noticed.
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'The Courts of
Sorcery'
Cover by
Duane O.
Myers
© 1997 ACE Books and Duane O. Myers Ashley McConnell
Author
Inspired by Michael: Jazen (character)
in the Demon Wars Trilogy
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The Demon Wars Trilogy ('The Fountains of Mirlacca', 'The Itinerant
Exorcist', 'The Courts of Sorcery') follows the path taken by Jazen, a fatherless lad
with the ability to start fires with the power of his mind. In a
land where possession by Demons is a very real possibility, Jazen's "talent"
could get him killed by suspicious villagers fearing the source of Jazen's
power. Can Jazen use his gift to fight the Demons through exorcism, or do
the Demons have something else in mind?
~~~
Interview with Ashley McConnell
What is your professional background?
I've been writing professionally since the late 1980s. Started out with a couple
of horror novels*, did a bunch of 'Quantum Leap' novels, the 'Demon Wars' trilogy,
'Highlander', 'Stargate SG-1',
Buffy, Angel. I think I'm
forgetting something but can't remember what. I have a short story in 'Bedlam's
Edge', which is an anthology based on Misty's (Mercedes Lackey) Bedlam's Bard
series, coming out in August. You should all go buy many many copies....
What drew you to Michael Praed in the first place?
I think it's the physical type (I studied anthropology as an undergraduate, and
that really is lovely bone structure <G>), and the characters. I know absolutely
NOTHING whatsoever about the individual Michael Praed, but the characters he's
portrayed (that I've seen)
have an intensity that I like very much.
I have a friend in the television biz who has said that most of the actors she's
met aren't people who are particularly dazzling in person, even though many of
them are professionals she'd hire in a heartbeat for projects she's working on.
I haven't met a vast number of actors myself, but for the ones I have met, that
does seem to be true. So as much as anything I look at whether the actor seems
to be capable of portraying the character in my head, as a role. Who he is as an
individual is a separate issue. It's nice
to know if he's a decent human being too, but even if he isn't, I can use a "nameyouractorofchoicehere-shaped-object"
in what I'm working on.
Does that sound too cold-blooded? I hope not. It certainly does justify an
extensive selection of still photos and screen savers, though.
What quality or qualities does he convey to you?
In the roles I've seen? The intensity I mentioned. A certain... lethality
(okay, so a fully bent bow does have a certain impact, you should forgive the
pun). And a quietness -- still waters run deep and all that. All kinds of
potential there!
Have you used him more than once?
I used him as a physical model for Jazen. It's hard to sneak in very many
fully-developed outside characters in tie-ins without "robbing" the series
stars, so he hasn't shown up much there. I've had a story knocking about in the
back of my head for YEARS that has this tall, dark-haired, lean assassin.... and
one of these days I'll get it written down!
* Ashley is modest. She was a finalist for the Bram Stoker First Novel Award,
bestowed by the Horror Writers Association, in 1992.
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'The Pirates of Pompeii'
Cover by Richard Carr,
Peter Sutton, Fred van Deelen
© 2001 Orion Children's Books
Caroline Lawrence
Author
Inspired by Michael:
Publius Pollius Felix?
(character)
in the Roman Mysteries.
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The Roman Mysteries (so
far) consist of:
'The Thieves of Ostia', 'The Secrets of Vesuvius', 'The Pirates of
Pompeii', ''The Assassins of Rome', 'The Dolphins of Laurentum', 'The
Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina', The Enemies of Jupiter', 'The Gladiators
from Capua', and 'The Colossus of Rhodes'.
The popular children's mysteries pursue the escapades of four young
friends who have a knack for solving puzzles. They are patrician
Flavia Gemina, Jewish lad Jonathan Ben Mordecai, mute Greek beggar-boy
Lupus, and former African slave girl Nubia. Set against the
backdrop of multi-cultural Rome in the first century, the children
endure everything from mundane family life and schoolwork, to the
cataclysmic eruption of Mt Vesuvius and subsequent burial of Pompeii in
79 AD.~~~
A note on Caroline Lawrence's professional background
Caroline Lawrence grew up in Bakersfield, California. After studying
Classics at Berkeley she won a Marshall Scholarship to Cambridge University in
Great Britain where she gained degrees in classical art and archaeology.
Later studies at London University gave her an MA in Hebrew and Jewish
languages. Lawrence taught Latin, French and art at a small London primary
school before writing 'The Thieves of Ostia' in 2000. She lives by
the Thames River in London with her husband Richard Russell Lawrence, a graphic
designer..
Interview with Caroline Lawrence
Frankly, Caroline, I'm a little suspicious about this character (Publius
Pollius Felix) in the Roman Mysteries described as a tall, elegant,
prematurely gray-haired, very handsome dark-eyed man. Clean shaven. Has
a light, cultured voice. He is an accomplished musician and writes his
own songs. His gaze is very intense and has a way of making his
companions feel as if they are the center of his world as he's talking
with them. While woman fall for him in droves, he is a devoted husband
and family man.
It's either Michael Praed or the patron Publius Pollius Felix.
Is this similar description one happy accident or am I onto something?
My charismatic Felix is not based
on Michael but on two other sources, one of whom is a character from Mary
Renault's 'Last of the Wine' and the other of whom is a jazz pianist. I didn't
really know much about Michael but I live in London and when he was in 'Contact'
a year or so ago and there were posters of him with grey hair I thought 'That
guy looks like I imagine Felix would have looked.' When I found out it
was Michael Praed from 'Robin of Sherwood' (I just vaguely remembered that) it
was just about the time I was thinking about possible readers for my audiobooks.
I knew I wanted someone with a light cultured voice like Felix and when I
downloaded a portion of Michael being interviewed I thought 'Perfect!'
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~~~
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