Good morning. I trust you all had a wonderful weekend. As we start the second week of the blog challenge. It seems as if Mother Nature will cut us some slack this week with warmth and sunshine in the forecast, something I know I can certainly use.
Today’s letter is H, and I’m going to talk a bit about the obvious, heroes and heroines. I prefer to create what I consider human characters, the ones with imperfections and insecurities, some with physical disabilities, others with emotional ones. Why? Because humans aren’t perfect. They make mistakes and errors in judgement like everyone else. In short, in their search to find that perfect love, their soulmate, they’ll react to the situations around them and to the circumstances that they are dealing with, sometimes misunderstanding and misinterpreting what their opposite has said and done, often jumping to the wrong conclusion. That usually leads to conflict and then the resolution we need.
Let’s start with the typical male hero. Let’s face it. Readers don’t want to read a romance about someone living paycheck to paycheck, never getting anywhere. For too many, that’s their reality. Reading a romance is supposed to carry them off for a few hours of entertainment.
So, our hero will usually be rich, handsome, and available. He’ll be kind and caring, a skilled lover, although I rarely have many sex scenes in my books. That particular act is one I tend to keep behind closed doors. But, my hero will also be insecure about something, and that something will affect how he interacts and responds to the heroine. Perhaps he’s afraid that his money or his title will define him in the eyes of the women in his life. Maybe he’s been injured, or disfigured some way. Perhaps he has a secret that once revealed will change the way others see him. Whatever it is, he’s vulnerable, and it’s baring that vulnerability that endears him to the reader.
The same can be said about the heroine. She will be attractive, sometimes rich, most often not, and she will be dealing with something that only the hero can help her accomplish. Perhaps it will be a overbearing parent, traditions and responsibilities she can’t shirk, or even the fear of attracting other by what she is rather than who she is. Most often, she’ll have secrets, too and a difficult challenge to overcome. It could be solving a murder, lifting a curse, finding the truth, discovering her past … the possibilities are endless, but while she may be a damsel in distress, she won’t be a wimp about it. She’ll play the hand she’s dealt and hope for the best.
Today is the official release day for my novel, The Regal Rose.
Here’s the blurb.
She’s a princess in distress. He’s her knight in shining armor. Can he rescue her once more?
Ten years ago, Princess Anna-Rose fell in love with Trucker, a long-haired, bearded American student backpacking through Europe. Her mother’s sudden illness forced her to leave him without saying goodbye or revealing the truth about her identity. All she has is a dried rose and an emptiness in her heart to prove their relationship ever happened.
When her father insists that she choose a husband, she threatens to leave the royal family. Her brother comes to her aid. She has one shot at finding her lost lover. If she fails, she has to select one of the suitors presented to her and wed before the year is out. With the clock ticking, Anna goes to the United States hoping to find Abbot’s Cove and the man she loves.
Bryce Bannon, Trucker to his old friends, is the owner, president, and CEO of Bannon Enterprises, a multi-million-dollar, international logistics company. He’s content to control his empire from a distance and maintain the anonymity he gets living on his stud farm along Lake Erie where he raises thoroughbreds and roses.
When a snowstorm hits, he goes out to check on his animals and hears a horn wailing in the distance. Despite his aversion to strangers, he can’t let someone freeze to death. Something about the woman he rescues is familiar, but when he recognizes his Rosie, he’s elated—until he discovers her true identity and questions her reason for being there. Will they rekindle the love they had, or will duty pull them apart once more?
Writing this novel was enjoyable as was creating the two slightly dysfunctional main characters. I was able to use some of my personal experience with severe winter weather to show her determination to get to the truth. Creating characters, especially believable heroes and heroines, those the readers can identify and empathize with, is one of the toughest parts of writing any genre, but especially romance where connecting one with the other is the key element of the plot.
The Regal Rose is available in e-book format from all Amazon dealers and is free to read in Kindle Unlimited. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSB6QBC2
That’s it for me today. Find other bloggers and their posts here. https://tinyurl.com/3we8aa84
Come back Monday when I’ll give you a Did You Know? for the letter I. Enjoy your day.
Living the Dream 