Here are the character profiles of the main characters from Tales of Romance: Unlikely Lovers. These should give you a better idea of whom the characters are and what makes them tick.
Cuddle Buddies
Stephanie Vitale
“Oh youth–why is it always wasted on the young?”
Age: 40
Date of Birth: 3/15/1977
City: Clinton Township, MI
Description: Stephanie stands at 5’6″ with a slender and athletic build. Due to her active lifestyle, she has managed to stave off aging, making her look younger than she really is. She’s been described as being astute and sharp. Her ethnic background consists of unknown amounts of Italian, Irish, and Polish.
Life: Stephanie is a Detroit girl, born and bred. She grew up in the suburbs just south of the infamous 8 Mile road with her father, now deceased, mother, and older sister. Her upbringing was typical for the area and time, and despite the sometimes rough neighborhood, nothing bad happened to her.
She attended East Detroit High School in 1991 and graduated in 1994 with honors. She then attended Wayne State University, majoring in human resources. While going to ED, she joined the girls’ volleyball team, making it to varsity her senior year. She continued playing volleyball while attending Wayne State, but not on a school team.
During her years at WSU, she had a serious boyfriend and it appeared as if their marriage was a sure thing until she found out he was cheating on her. Heartbroken, she stayed single through most of her 20’s, having a hard time trusting again. She dated here and there, but no one really sparked her interest. She decided to focus on her career and kept playing volleyball for fun and the exercise. She also developed a love for traveling and dogs, and greatly respects any one who can speak more than one language.
In 2014, she got her job as a human resources generalist for M&M Machining where she eventually met Nathaniel when he started in 2016.
Nathaniel Fleming
“But I like you for who you are. Is that so unbelievable?”
Age: 26
Date of Birth: 6/9/1991
City: St. Clair Shores, MI
Description: Nathaniel is 6’1″ with boyish good looks and a slender build. He is known for having a professional, but quiet demeanor as he prefers the company of animals to people. He is said to be 50% Polish, a quarter German, and a quarter English.
Life: Nathaniel is originally from St. Clair Shores, a scenic suburb that borders Lake St. Clair on Michigan’s east side. Unlike some of the other characters in this book, Nathaniel did not attend Archbishop Samuel Catholic High, but rather Pater Noster High School, located in Harper Woods, MI. He graduated in 2009.
Nathaniel didn’t attend college and instead opted to work in animal care and dog training. While those years were some of his happiest and most rewarding, he eventually came to the conclusion that unless he worked professionally, he would never make enough money to get his life started. This led to him applying for a line assembly position at M&M Machining. Unfortunately, the recruiter worried he was too meek and quiet for line assembly, so she recommended him for data entry, instead.
He accepted the position in 2016 and despite having met Stephanie when he first started, their friendship didn’t begin immediately. It wasn’t until the office manager discovered Nathaniel’s interest in personality typing that she decided that Nathaniel should work with Stephanie to create a better hiring process as they had a high turn-over rate in some of their positions. It was this collaboration that led to them becoming friends as they both shared interests in dogs and foreign languages.
In the summer of 2017, when Nathaniel had his first cuddle session with Stephanie, he still lived at home with his father (51), mother (46), and younger brother (19).
Bipartisan
Mikayla “Mika” Johnson
“Well, if you want the same things as I do, why are we fighting?!”
Age: 25
Date of Birth: 8/27/1992
City: St. Clair Shores, MI
Description: Mika is the shortest of the cast at only 5’3″. She’s described as cute and petite, but with some noticeable curvature. Friends say she is outgoing and confident, but at times, she can be unnecessarily outspoken and headstrong.
Life: Mikayla grew up in inner city Chicago. She lived with her mother and father in a small apartment in the downtown area. They didn’t have a lot of money, causing Mika’s parents to fight about expenses often.
Despite her circumstances, Mika did not grow up unhappy. Sure, there were things she wanted, even immaterial things that seemed beyond her reach due to her family’s socioeconomic status, but she somehow satisfied herself with the promise that after she grew up, she would have everything she could possibly want.
After high school, Mika went to the University of Illinois Chicago where she majored in digital media. After graduating in May 2015, she moved to St. Clair Shores the following fall after securing a job with E-Z Mac Media, named so because it’s located in east Macomb county. She worked as a commentator and editor, meaning she worked both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
It was around this time she became acquainted with Darian who worked as a writer and script editor for E-Z. Although he could be stand-offish, she found him warm and approachable until the election of 2016 revealed their political affiliations. At that point, they stopped being friends and almost turned into enemies.
Mika had several romantic relationships during her life. Growing up in the city, many people knew her, and being cute and outgoing, she earned admirers easily. Despite that, she never took any of those relationships seriously as she always knew she wasn’t going to stay in Chicago and she knew that some of the guys were players.
Mika’s parents still reside in Chicago despite their desire to leave. One of the things keeping them there is that her father is 70 years old and has had to work hard all his life. As a result, his health is quickly declining, requiring his wife, who is eleven years his junior, to pick up the slack while also taking care of him.
In her free time, Mika likes rollerblading, watching movies, and playing video games. Her favorites were casual and party games, but due to Darian’s influence, she eventually moved onto role-playing and action games.
Darian Walker
“I’m not being nice. I am merely trying to take care of you the best I can in this awkward situation.”
Age: 28
Date of Birth: 4/3/1989
City: Clinton Township, MI
Description: Darian is the tallest of the cast, standing at 6’3″. He’s said to be “traditionally handsome” with aristocratic features and broad shoulders. He’s known to “stand on ceremony” often making his personality overly formal, exacting, and sometimes stand-offish. He is of English and German descent.
Life: Darian is a native Michigander, having called the small suburb of Eastpointe–formerly known as East Detroit–his hometown.
Darian originally started at Pater Noster, but his parents transferred him to Samuel the summer between his Sophomore and Junior years. He had a hard time adjusting his first year there as the curriculum was graded more severely than at PN, but he learned to be comfortable in his own skin by Senior year. Despite his adjustment, he was still known for having a stand-offish and reserved attitude, just like his classmates Anthony Palazzolo and Christopher Nucks. Some say that the three were friends, or at the very least, close acquaintances, but these may just be rumors.
After Samuel, Darian attended Macomb Community College and majored in English. It took him longer than two years to complete his Associates, but once completing it, he was almost immediately hired by E-Z Mac Media where he became a script writer and editor for all their videos, whether they were entertainment or news related. Anything else he needed to know about the business, he learned for free off the Internet.
Despite having a mildly successful career, Darian had dreamed of being a writer since he was in high school and got serious about writing his first novel, a fantasy story called Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight, sometime after graduating from Macomb.
Darian became acquainted with Mikayla after she moved to Michigan in 2015 to work as a commentator and video editor for E-Z Mac. Their relationship was warm and friendly at first, sometimes even flirty. However, with the major election of 2016, Mika’s and Darian’s political affiliations were revealed, and their old biases turned them against each other.
When not working or trying to achieve his writing dreams, Darian fills his time with multiple hobbies, including martial arts, firearms and other weapons, reading, and video games. He has a father (64), mother (63), and an older sister (37).
Reunion
Eleanor “Elle” McCormick
“I thought you liked me for me, and not because I was hot or popular.”
Age: 28
Date of Birth: 5/17/1989
City: Rochester Hills, MI
Description: Elle is 5’6″ with a trim and athletic build. She is known for having a lifted butt and almost model-like good looks. Her friends say she is open and earnest. She is a quarter Irish and three-quarters Polish.
Life: Unlike the rest of the native Michiganders here, Eleanor grew up on the west side of Detroit in Oakland county in the city of Madison Heights, the same city where Samuel is located.
Eleanor was the apple of her parents’ eyes and raised with the expectation of becoming a lady in the modern day. She was so well-bred and gracious, that she became the perfect role model for her two younger sisters, but still had enough “big sister” in her to keep her younger brother in check and safe from school bullies.
Eleanor was popular in school both with the students and teachers. Despite a few struggles, she got good grades and only became prettier with age. Her beauty unfortunately became a double-edged sword in her high school days as boys only took an interest in her for nothing more than her looks. She soon developed a complex and stopped trusting boys altogether her Sophomore year. The anxiety of dealing with the opposite sex even led to her grades slipping. Some of her hope was rekindled when she met Anthony, but when he turned her down and even started treating her badly, she got angry but also suffered through a hard depression for about a month. One of her teachers took notice and encouraged her to commit herself to her studies and extracurricular activities to take her mind off boys. It seemed to work as Elle graduated magna cum laude and was even captain of the cheerleading squad. However, her problems with Anthony continued all throughout high school.
She went on to attend Grand Valley State University, which is just west of Grand Rapids, MI, deciding to major in business administration. She eventually forgot her troubled days at Samuel and met a guy who she dated for her duration at GVSU. They seemed to have an ideal relationship, but it ended shortly after graduation as they decided to pursue different paths in life. Elle herself went on to become a real estate agent.
Elle reunited with Anthony at their 10 year high school reunion, which rekindled some of her passion for him. Anthony explained to her his girl problem back in high school and the two seemed to develop an affection for one another. While they seemed content together at the end of their high school reunion, their relationship status at this time is unknown.
Besides being a go-getter in the world of real estate, Elle loves to dance and work out, which has helped her keep her figure since high school. Her parents are both still so proud of her, and she remains the ideal big sister to her brother (25) and sisters (22 and 19), all of whom graduated from Samuel as well (Classes 2010, 2013, and 2015).
Anthony Palazzolo
“It’s difficult to explain.”
Age: 28
Date of Birth: 2/20/1989
City: Sterling Heights, MI
Description: Anthony is 6’0″. Despite being taller than average, he doesn’t stand out too much only having a medium build, but he has aged well. He’s known for having a reserved and exclusive personality, often thinking a lot more than he actually says. He is half Italian and half German.
Life: Raised in Roseville, just north of Eastpointe and west of St. Clair Shores, Anthony went on to become one of the “Samuel Three” featured in Tales of Romance.
As a child, Anthony was quite outgoing, gregarious, and sometimes even boisterous. But as he matured, he became more self-aware and even self-conscious. He retreated into himself and became more of a loner. Even amongst his friends, he was still the outsider.
He attended Samuel between September 2003 and May 2007, graduating with honors. He later went on to Macomb Community College and finally to Wayne State University, majoring in English at both, a decision he would later come to regret due to English’s lack of specialization. He freelances as an article writer for various online sites.
Anthony didn’t date much during his years at school. Although he entertained several crushes during his elementary and middle school years, when he got to high school, something about his perception about the girls changed, and he thought there was something wrong with them. It wasn’t until his college years that he realized that that was just how girls acted, and he would come to regret his reserved and aloof behavior at Samuel. He dated a couple of girls while attending Macomb, but these relationships never amounted to much, only lasting a few weeks as all the girls didn’t think they were compatible with Anthony in the long-term.
Despite his lackluster dating performance and even remaining a bit of a hermit into his late 20’s, Anthony still has plenty of interests which include cars, motorcycles, writing, and cycling. His parents are still alive and the same age (62), and he has an older brother (36) and older sister (34).
Buy Tales of Romance: Unlikely Lovers here.
