Goodreads asked Terez Mertes Rose:

Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

Terez Mertes Rose Ooh, fun question! I assume you mean within my own writing, yes? Creating fictional relationships and romances are so much fun, it's almost like having an affair in your head (shh - don't tell my husband!) and it's fascinating to ride the trajectory, observe what works, what falls flat once I'm moved on to the next story. I had a lot of fun creating Gil and Lana as a couple, but the more I delved into it, the more complicated it became. (The first draft was almost goofy, the way it all flowed for them, minus some of the dramas that appeared in later drafts.) Now that I've completed story 1, story 2, and am playing around with story 3, it seems to me that relationship lacks real substance, and that Gil has had it far too easy, wooing a pretty dancer, winning her, etc. So, I think that's going to backfire in story 3 (oops, spoiler alert). In story 1, as well, I enjoyed creating a happy ending for Alice and Niles, but, once again, it doesn't seem to me that they're an extraordinary couple. I think OUTSIDE THE LIMELIGHT does a more nuanced job in relationships. Just adore the way Dena and Misha developed from strangers, to friends, to really close friends, and, well, I'll stop there so as to avoid another spoiler for those who haven't read Book 2. And Rebecca had a bit of a bumpy ride through Book 2 - it's only in story 3 (still too early to consider it a Book 3) that she gets her chance at a great relationship. Which, hint hint, first begins in the last chapter of Book 2. Right now, THEY are my favorite fictional couple. In the end, it seems to me I most like the couple/characters that are most alive in my mind. They seem to take turns. And, as a result of noodling around with new scenes and dialogue and pairing up old characters with newer ones, some relationships are springing up that I hadn't seen coming. Ooh, what fun! It's one of my favorite things about writing fiction - this sense of "where did THAT come from?!"

Thanks for asking the question!

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