Are you hiding your past under that cloak or are you just happy to see me--THE MYSTERIOUS HERO

Flipping through the channels one of too many sleepless nights, I came upon a movie I forgot I loved—Clive Barker’s 1990 monster-with–a-heart horror/drama NIGHTBREED. At the end, an epiphany came upon me—

Clive Barker introduced me to my first paranormal romance.

Go figure.

He also showed me that a guy with awesome face tats and a mysterious backstory can be hotter than that ripped edge of muscle on a guy’s hips—you know the one, shaped like a V and leads to happy land.

Those eyes--those face tattoos--can I solve your mystery?

Looking back, I've always loved a guy who had something to hide. Getting a regular guy to open up is just about freakin' impossible, adding a secret identity or past into the mix will drive you nuts. Unless, of course, you are "the one."

Don't we all want to be "the one"? That's why I write what I do. Successfully getting past the cloak and finding the real hero beneath all the shadows and secrets is probably my greatest turn on. Even Superman didn't let Lois in on the Big Secret (In the comic books, took over 40 years, and in the movies, it took 3 sequels for her to get it.)


Anyone who has read Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series will recognize the character Acheron (♥Ash to those who love him♥). Who is he? From whence he came? Who will be the one he allows to go through that thick skin and solve the riddle of what makes his heart tick? He is in the series from the very first novel, but we only know bits and pieces about him--enough to have the reader fall in love. It's a great marketing tactic, and a very successful one as well. In each of her books she would give us just one more clue to Acheron's identity and purpose. Brilliant way to to get people to follow you. With every new book, the blogs and forums would be abuzz with the clues she'd drop in the novels--and she wrote 11 of them (not counting the shorts in Anthologies and showing up in her spin-offs, the big tease) before giving her fans Ash's story. 

Not all Mysterious Heroes are monsters or superhumans. Mr. Darcy, the stoic, hard-to-read, gentleman of Pride And Prejudice fame is one. Hot. Enigma. I know I would never have misunderstood the intriguing pensiveness of Mr. Darcy.

You can't have just one. For me, it's a duel between Olivier & Firth.  *sigh*

There are many, many more wonderfully mysterious heroes--but who shows up on your "to do" list? I'm going to have to give a nod to Barrons from Karen Marie Moning's Faefever series (I don't usually do acronyms, but OMG. Really. OMG.), The Highlander (Movie and series, though in the movie, the fact that he has a French accent and is a Scotsman just adds to his ambiguity), and every historical romance hero who ever showed up to a ball wearing a mask. 

Why are you still reading? Go comment about your Mysterious Hero. You'll give me more to read, and perhaps, may win a little blog candy yourself...

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Starting 18th July, and continuing for two weeks, the Wild Writers will take you on our own personal tour of great heroes. Check in every weekday to see what flavor of hero we’re discussing, and let us know whether you think he’s hot, or not. Then at the end of July, two lucky commenters will win fabulous collections of books from our back lists and by other authors we admire.

U.S. and Canada only (print) package:
Autographed copies of Blue Angel by Logan; Secrets Volume 30 (signed by contributor Anne); Secrets Volume 27 (signed by contributor Liane); Who Needs a Hero by Jenn; Starfire (Demonfire) by Kate Douglas; and Blood of the Rose: The Tudor Vampire Chronicles by Kate Pearce.

World-wide (e-book) package: 
The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag: Skeletons in the Closet and Redeeming Characters by Jenn; Even Demons Get the Blues, Let Sleeping Demons Lie, From the Ashes, and Scent of a Man by Maree; Shifting Priorities, Wanton, and Stranded on Earth by Anne; Out of Her League and Cover of Darkness by Kaylea; Fallout by Karly; Wicked Redemption and Believe by Liane; and Letters to Kelly by Suzanne Brockmann.

Because there may be a drought in Texas, but at Writers Gone Wild, it’s raining men.