Daniel is probably one of my favorite characters in the Watersong series (tied with Marcy), and after Harper and Gemma, he was one of the first characters I concieved. With Daniel, I really wanted to make a sexy, nice guy.
It had recently occurred to me that so many of the guys that I was crushing on in books and movies were kind of jerks. A lot of "reformed" bad boys who are always brooding and pushing girls away for "their own good." So I decided I wanted to do something different.
Initially, Daniel seems like a bit of a slacker, and he makes an embaressing first impression on Harper. But as Harper gets to know him, she finds that he's hard-working, generous, brave, loyal, and completeley dependable. And he has the added bonus of being foxy and tattooed.
In case you haven't seen the cover for Tidal (the third book in the Watersong series), it features a shirtless Daniel showing off his awesome back tattoo. (Here's a link to the cover: http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/p/watersong.html )
I've also come to realize that I have an obsession with tattoos and scars. Many of my leading males have tattoos (Lazlo from The Hollows), or scars (Loki from the Trylle), or both (Daniel from Watersong).
