We Give Great Hero tour winners!

Huge thanks to everyone who read and commented on our "We Give Great Hero" tour posts -- you guys rock!

And, chosen by random number generator, we're thrilled to announce winners of our "We Give Great Hero" tour....

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.

Worldwide (eBook) 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.

Winner of the print package is:

**JANE**

(Jane, I can't find any contact details for you on your Blogger profile, so we're hoping that you are a US/Canada resident? If not, don't fret, we'll put together some eBooks for you.)

Winner of the eBook package is:

**JENNIE BRUMLEY**

Jane and Jennie, if you would please contact Maree:

Maree Anderson Author// AT// gmail// DOT// com (no slashes or spaces)

Cheers!

The Wild Women of Writers Gone Wild.

BPW: Judi Phillips

Judi Phillips has always had stories playing in her head for as long as she can remember. Then one day it occurred to her she could write them down--and there was no turning back. It’s much easier to keep the stories straight when they’re on paper rather than rattling around in her head. She lives in Maine in the foothills of the White Mountains with two Yorkies and a MinPin and visits her grown children who have followed her advice and provided wonderful places for her to visit.

Widower Trace Hawthorne has run his life on the left-brained model of an engineer—except for his impulsive move to Egypt with his toddler twelve years ago. When he returns to Minnesota and buys a century-old house, any odd incidents—misplaced items, flickering lights, a boy, Edward, whom no one will claim—he dismisses with logic.

Single mother and herbalist Wynter Storm is poised to expand her business, moonlighting as an interior decorator for extra funds. In denial about her psychic intuition, she senses things about Trace’s new house and about him.

Logic and intuition collide, sparks fly and love ignites. Can they heal past hurts of grief, guilt and abandonment while fending off their matchmaking daughters, curtailing their mothers—one a psychic and the other a busybody—and help the ghost of a small boy find his way home?

Available for purchase from The Wild Rose Press

and Kindle

Upcoming releases:

Night of Turmoil will be released on September 21 from Whispers Publishing

Two Moons Rising will be released later this year from Crescent Moon Press

Wild Trivia:

Five all-time favorite books that are still on my keeper shelf:

Scottish Historical: Bride of the MacHugh by Jan Cox Speas

Science Fiction: Ballroom of the Skies by John D. MacDonald (better known for his detective novels and the Travis McGee series)

Fantasy: Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey -- and all the rest

Suspense: Shattered Moon by Kate Green

Erotica: Anything by Nina Pierce and Caitlyn Willows

and

A good craft book: On Writing by Stephen King

The Alpha Male Hero - My favorite!

Who: the Alpha Male Hero. I know, it’s so cliché, but I really love the Alpha Male’s. They are smart and sexy and make me drool in a most unladylike manner!

Where can you find them? Anywhere and everywhere! On television, in movies, at the local pub and of courses between the pages of your favorite romance novel. The very first Alpha Male that I fell in love with was Captain Kirk (the original StarTrek) I must have been 12 at the time, and I was hooked. He was smart, forceful, strong, never had a bad hair day and he always did what was right for his crew.

The 300 (drool) Can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this movie but I ‘ll have to buy a new copy soon. Mine’s getting worn right out. That scene where he yells”We are Spartans!” sends delicious shivers right down my spine every time I hear it.

Jane’s Warlord (by Angela Knight) Now there’s an Alpha Male! He’s hot and smart and so very very protective of his woman. Whether she wants him to be or not. If you haven’t read this one yet, I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s part of the Time Hunter Series, and I personally can’t wait for the next installment of these yummy time travelers.

Next comes any of the Dark series books by Christine Feehan . Those Carpathians are sooooo Hot! They’d melt the polar ice cap they got anywhere near it.

and (drum roll please…)

Kellen’s Conquest by moi – available in Secrets Vol 30 (release date July 31st!) I have a hard time with tooting my own horn, but I might mention that this novella won the Alpha Male contest that Red Sage Publishing ran in the spring of 2009, so I’m not the only one who loves him.

Why we Love him: Because he’s the perfect guy. He’s always there when you need him, he’s gorgeous but not conceited, he’s strong enough to protect you from the things that go bump in the night, and he’s focused on making his lady’s life as wonderful as he can. What’s not to love?

What we are giving you: Just so you can understand how truly wonderful an Alpha Male hero is I’m going to give away an e-book copy of Shifting Priorities(the collection), an e-book copy of Stranded on Earth, and e-book copy of Stargazers: Wanton as well as an autographed copy of Secrets Volume30. They are included in the two prize packages that we, The Wild Women are giving away at the end of our Hero’s Blogfest. To enter , all you have to do is comment on any or all of the blog posts. For every comment you make, you get one entry. The ebooks are available to all participants, but the print collection is only open to residents of Canada and the United States. Sorry about that but postage cost are prohibitive these days.

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!

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...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

The Aussie Hero

Who:  The Aussie hero

Where:     This has probably been one of Australias best kept secrets. For years we've kept our men hidden away for our own delight, but then we decided that it simply wasn't fair in this day and age of the sensitive new age male, with his man-manicures and the increase in sales of male beauty products that the real man seemed to a dying breed. So the women of Australia have decided to allow you, the women of the rest of the world, to share our men.

            Prime examples of the Aussie man started way back in the early eighties with the infamous Crocodile Dundee… "That's not a knife! THIS, is a knife!"

Then we gave you Mel Gibson as a larrikin Detective in Lethal weapon one through to sixty…. (on second thought, perhaps we shouldn't dwell on poor old Mel too much due to recent events!). Then the flood gates seemed to open with the likes of Russel Crowe, Simon Baker, Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana (hubba hubba), Sam Worthington (avatar) Chris Hemsworth as Thor…..(sighhh) and Alex O’Loughlin (Hawaii Five-O) exploding onto big screens all over the world.

Why we love him:        Why do we love an Aussie hero? Well lets take a look at exhibit A. Aussie hero's tend to be the action guy, the rugged men who use their ingenuity, think McGuiver…without the eighties hair!  He's a take charge, no messin' around kinda hero. He's the hero you want in your corner when the aliens are coming or the bad guys have you backed into a corner.

What we are giving you:      I have an Aussie hero in my romantic suspense, Fallout, which I have up for grabs.

Jake Holden is your quintessential Aussie hero.

Having served his country for over twenty years, he’s found himself wounded, alone, and for the first time in his life, without a plan for his future. What starts out as a simple diversion--trying to figure out the feisty little waitress next door—turns out to be his most dangerous mission yet.

From the tropical paradise of Far North Queensland to the rugged isolation of the Northern Territory in Australia, Fallout is the story of two modern-day warriors,  locked in the battle between good and evil, caught up in a mad man's revenge, as treacherous  as the landscape that surrounds them.

WRITERS GONE WILD WE GIVE GREAT HERO TOUR- THE ANTI-HERO

WE GIVE GREAT HERO TOUR- THE ANTI HERO
by Saranna DeWylde

WHO: The anti-hero. Yeah, he doesn't wanna and no one's gonna make him. He's a hardass bad boy to the core, but he has his own moral code. Although, he may even seem villainous at first. *shivers* Those are the ones I like best. He's tough, he's strong, but underneath it, he's wounded. There's something broken that made him this way. He's complex and deep, there is so much more to him than what's on the surface.

Why We Love Him: The anti-hero is solid proof that love heals all things. Redemption is possible for anyone. And this one heroine? This single woman in all of the world is his key to salvation. She is his transformation, but she didn't set out to change him. She accepts him for who he is and it's love that makes him dig deeper to become the hero we all want to believe in.




Example 1

Severus Snape. If you haven't read the last book, run away now. Still reading? Okay. Severus Snape. He didn't get a Happily Ever After, but after brief foreshadowing in the first two books, all we saw was darkness from him. But even in the dark, the lone candle of his love for Lily burned long after she loved another man, long after she bore his child, and even after she'd been dead and gone seventeen years. It still drove him, wrought his actions and dictated how he chose to live his life and ultimately, how he sacrificed it. When he died, all he wanted was to pass into death looking into the eyes that were so like the woman he'd loved.

Example 2

The blond woman there? That's Kresley Cole. (And Gena Showlater and Jennifer Hart and Meeeee!) Every damn hero she writes in the Immortals After Dark series. She sets them up as villains. Some are so horrible, you wonder how she'll ever make him a hero. Then she does. Believably. Perfectly. Gut-punchingly. In every single book, if you're not laughing, you're crying. Or you're doing both. These are the anti-heroes they build civilizations on.

Example 3

The Real Housewives of Olympus by me. (Hey, I told you I loved the anti-heroes.) I thought Hades would be the anti-hero I fell in love with as I was writing this book. And I did for the most part. He's the dark, brooding Lord of the Underworld who released Persephone after he realized she'd never love him. Gave her back to the world, not because of Demeter's tantrum, but because he truly wanted her to be happy. Then he begged Aphrodite on his knees to rip his heart out of his chest so he'd never have to feel that pain again. Until Hera. She's determined to use him in a revenge plot against Zeus. Take away his crown and give it to Hades. She trips and falls in love, knowing with no heart, he could never love her back. But he does. He falls in love with her anyway because his love is more than in his heart, its in his soul. Her love brings his heart back to life from ash and stone.

But the one I really fell for? Nyx's son, Thanatos. He isn't just a god, he's Death. Le Sigh.

Excerpt:

A cold gust of wind blew the door to her temple open with such force the handle was imbedded into the wall. The sharp sound startled them both and they turned to see an unwelcome visitor. Death, in his pale glory, had come to call.

Abstinence instinctively knew he was the twilight of all things, this man who stood with a kind smile on his face. She could see the depths of eternity in his eyes, they were bright with the swirling mist of souls, alternately like darkest midnight and then threaded with the purples and oranges of the dawn.

Hera had said all the gods were golden but Hades. This one wasn’t either, he was pale, his skin blue-veined ice and his lashes were like snowflakes. He was unmistakably male, but beautiful and terrible like she’d always imagined the elemental gods to be.

He held out his hand to her, the dark blue of his nail beds strangely comforting to her. Abstinence reached out to take his hand as if in a trance and Zeus snatched her hand away.

“Stop that.”

“I have to go,” she whispered.

“What did you do, Zeus, that I’ve been called to do my job here on Olympus?” Death demanded in a voice that brooked no argument or deflection.

“I…” he trailed off.

“Zeus!” he demanded again, but this time when he spoke, the wine on the table turned a brackish color, the fig truffles wasted away and the very walls of the temple shook, for Death would eventually own all things.


I love the idea of Death as an anti-hero. Actually, there was a story in an anthology about Death and a woman with a heart condition. I remember that their Happily Ever After ended with her death. His line about how being with him wouldn't be setting up a condo in Hell, but just an eternity of a formless existence with him and she still chose to be with him. If you can tell me the title of the antho and the story, I'll give you a pdf of THE REAL HOUSEWIVES of OLYMPUS in addition to putting you in the running for all the other good stuff we've got going on. I really want to read that story again!

Who are your favorite antiheroes?

We interrupt our scheduled hero tour

We interrupt our scheduled hero tour....

...to Bring you a Writers Gone Wild Blatant Promo Monday!

Wild writer Logan Belle is on a deadline, so in place of our Movie Hero post we're taking the opportunity to pimp ourselves. Hey. it's our blog and we'll tart if we want to!

The Wild Women have been getting busy, and not just on the blog! Shorts by Jenna McCormick and Robin Wright. Full length *giggle*stories by Saranna DeWylde and Jennifer L. Hart. Re-releases of old favorites and brand spanking new antics, it's all here.

So all you need to do is show us some cover love, and comment on this post to be entered into the main draw. What's not to like about that? *VBG*

KAYLEA'S BOOKS:

JENN'S BOOKS:

SARANNA'S BOOKS

LIANE'S BOOKS:

MAREE'S BOOKS:

LOGAN'S BOOKS:

KARLY'S BOOKS:

ROBIN'S BOOKS

ANNE'S BOOKS:

BPW: Spotlight on Frances Pauli

Bio: Frances Pauli was born and raised in Washington State. She grew up
with a love of reading and storytelling, and was introduced to Science
Fiction and Fantasy at an early age through the books kept and read by
her father. She writes Speculative fiction with a touch of Romance and
has great difficulty sticking with one genre.

Author Link
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frances-Pauli/112884745408149
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Frances-Pauli/e/B003DIIW38/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0


The boundaries between the worlds have fallen. Forced to integrate the
creatures of fantasy into real life, humanity struggles against its
disillusionment, prejudice and an inevitable feeling of inadequacy.
Once an agent for the embassy that mediates between the worlds,
Elizabeth Larson has abandoned her past and slipped into a world of
nostalgic addiction to fairy revels, dancing, and the dark lure of her
own memories. But when Lockland Sheen, her former partner and lover,
goes missing, she is pulled reluctantly back into service. She must
venture once more across the borders, into the land that haunts her,
facing a string of gruesome murders, the imposing Sidhe rulers and her
own addiction in the process.
While the Embassy’s agents attempt to soothe tensions between the
races, Liz and her new partner search the fairy realm for Lockland.
Fighting the constant temptation of the revels, they piece together
the trail of an unknown enemy. But the longer they follow it, the more
it appears that the man they came to rescue is more villain than
victim. And the more they rely on Elizabeth’s ties to the fairies, the
closer she inches toward the madness that lurks behind her fantasies.

~*~

Chloe came to the Three Lakes area for the peace and quiet. She
happily abandoned the world of retail management, suits and promotions
to work as a hotel maid catering to the local tourists. Until Andrew
Paige showed up—a suit of the worst kind, the kind that makes her
knees tremble.
When Andrew offers her a job at his hotel, Chloe is hell bent on
resisting, but the Dimensional Shift is no ordinary hotel, and Chloe
is immediately tossed into the world of inter-dimensional tourists,
their odd accommodations, and a string of thefts that threaten to ruin
her chances at romance.
While learning the ropes, dealing with the Shift’s unusual guests, and
trying to determine if the boss’ interest in her is strictly
professional, Chloe uncovers a plot to steal the hotel’s dimensional
keys. With the help of the town gossip, her alien abductee neighbor,
and her new invisible best friend, Chloe confronts an
inter-dimensional crime ring and a host of complications that make
romancing the boss look like the least of her troubles.

~*~

When Simon Maxwell’s archenemy backs out of the annual competition, he
thinks the prize is in the bag. But a surprise appearance from The
Spartan’s long-lost sister leaves Simon scrambling for a foot hold.
He’s sworn to protect the town, but the girl from his past has him
spinning in circles from the start. Is she here to help her brother,
or are her motives pure? When every turn hides another trap and each
twist holds a new secret, Simon risks more than just his honor. Can he
win the girl before the finish line? And how can he save the town,
when winning the race means losing his heart?

~*~

Lierra drags her barely tolerable fiancé to New Canterbury, a planet
where history is almost recreated for the nostalgic, human colonists.
While preparing for their wedding, however, she encounters Forrest
Ecks, her hero and one of the premier artists of the time.
Lierra’s engagement hovers ever closer, but more than her art blooms
during her lessons with Forrest. With the little time they have, can
they teach each other that giving up is never the best option?

~*~

When her interpretation of a traditional holiday scene loses Maris the
annual ice sculpting competition, her favorite season takes a turn
toward dismal. The rent is due, and her landlady won’t accept a fourth
place ribbon. So when the enigmatic, Lord Brayce, arrives with a last
minute commission, Maris jumps at the chance. And as her host’s icy
exterior begins to melt away, Maris finds there is far more to him
than meets the eye, and his attentions leave her wishing this
particular job could last forever.
But when Brayce’s family arrives for the holiday, Maris is plunged
head over heels into a world of secrets and an age old conflict
between brothers.
Can an ordinary girl survive at the center of a battle straight out of
myth? And if her impossible suspicions are correct, what are the odds
that Maris can win her prince?

Wild Trivia

My favorite quote: Evolve or Perish
Favorite book of all time: tie between Andre Norton's Year of the
Unicorn and Patricia McKillip's Forgotten Beasts of Eld
Favorite tarantula (yes, I have a favorite tarantula) Heteroscodra
maculata the Ornamental Baboon
Favorite writing snack: Wasabi Peas
Music to write by: Opera

Writers Gone Wild We Give Great Hero Tour- The Fantasy Hero

"Please, God, please, don't let me be normal!" (Louisa, The Fantastiks)

Did someone say normal? Not for this girl, unless you're a setting on the washing machine! For me, average and (yawn) mortal Joes are a dime a dozen. Why read about the kind of guy I can get anywhere? Like Ariel in Disney's "The Little Mermaid," sang so eloquently, I want more! Especially when it comes to my romantic heroes. The men I crave aren't altogether human, and the passions that drive them are larger than life itself.

As for Jenna's suggestion I pick an all time favorite fantasy hero? So not fair!!!! To paraphrase what Gail said on Monday--so many heroes, so little time. Not to mention word count! In my struggle to pick a winner, I did notice that my preference for men who aren't altogether human began early. Around 1987, actually. Anyone remember this show and its noble, dignified, wounded hero, Vincent?

Oh good grief. Vincent. I think a moment of silence is in order. The mere mention of his name makes my heart stutter. And yeah, here's where my fixation with fantasy heroes began. What woman could resist weekly episodes about a young woman resurrected by the love and devotion of a man who was no man at all, rather a beast who lived with the wounded and forgotten beneath the streets? Yet, through Catherine's love, Vincent, a literal monster, found his humanity. Catherine's love transformed him. I particularly love that in this reindition of Beauty and the Beast, Vincent remained, in physical terms, well....beastly. Yet to Catherine, he became ultimate romantic hero. Both lovers were forever changed--for the better.

I love it when an author goes the extra mile to convince her readers that a heroine's love welds the power to transform a seemingly unredeemable hero into a true leading man. No author I can think of does it better than Joey Hill in A Mermaid's Ransom, the third title in her (delectable) Daughter's of Arianne series. From the moment I read the blurb, I knew this one live on my keeper shelves for a long, long time:

Growing up the daughter of a famous mermaid and the second in command of the angelic legions can put a lot of pressure on a girl. Though she loves her parents, Alexis has chosen to live among humans as an ordinary college girl, but she can’t hide the tranquil aura of angelic light and empathic ability that draws people to her. Unfortunately, while it draws men to her, none of them are willing to cross the line to find her true heart and soul – or even give her a decently passionate kiss. That is, until she begins to dream of a male trapped in fire and rage, who wants her so badly he’ll tear the universe apart to have her. However, while all she can feel is his pain and suffering, and a yearning to heal him, Dante sees her as the way to his freedom. He thinks he’s willing to destroy her to accomplish that, but once he kidnaps her into his world and is confronted with the girl who is the opposite of everything he’s ever known, he starts to wonder if his freedom is as important as keeping her by his side.

Early in the book, the heroine, Alexis, tells her best friend, Clara of a dream encounter with her soon to be lover, “he needed me, more than I think anyone has ever needed another. So strong, he’d shatter the universe to get me.”

“God, that’s romantic," (Clara said.)

I'm with Clara. Romantic, passionate, impossible love! Where do I sign up?

Ms. Hill does an exemplary job of drawing characters capable of the emotional depth and inner resilience to literally transform a seemingly unredeemable, ultra dark hero into Mr. Perfect by the time the last page is turned. Yet, he never sacrifices who or what he is in order to claim his lady's heart. Please, muse, if you're listening, I yearn to become a writer like THAT!

It's no small wonder the books I've offered up for our WGW We Give Great Hero prize pack all feature fantasy heroes. While they're not altogether unikeable, they're all redemption tales featuring fantasy heroes driven by the larger than life passions I so enjoy reading about. I hope the winner of our prize pack agrees!

So tell me, who is your favorite fantasy hero? What is it about the inhuman male that appeals to you as a reader, or writer? Or do heroes like these (gasp!) leave you high and dry?

We Give Great Hero Tour, Day 4: The Sensual Hero

"WE GIVE GREAT HERO" TOUR, DAY 4: The Sensual Hero by Maree Anderson (for Writers Gone Wild)

I recently read The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne (and loved it so much that I talked about it on WGW a few weeks back). For me, the hero, Grey, (the spymaster of the title) typifies the Sensual Hero. He’s still an alpha—very much so. He knows exactly what he wants, and what he wants is the heroine, Annique. But Annique is so very much his equal that Grey knows he has to be patient or risk losing her. Riding roughshod over this woman, and merely paying lip-service to the deeply held principles that drive her, will only provoke her to repay him in kind—or even kill him. (Yes, she is that capable, and that much his equal. *g*) He has to be smart and devious in his pursuit of her.

For me, the sensual tension throughout this book was breathtaking, and not once was I disappointed that the love scenes were not explicitly described. Here’re some examples:

“The hall gets chilly. Sleep with me tonight, in that bed.”

He cradled her cheek into the warm hardness of his palm. He was so aware of her… even the infinitesimal nod of her head, she felt.

“You have to say it.”

“Yes.” She was without shame.

“I’ll hold you to that.” He drew her against him, body to body, and nuzzled into her hair, breathing the scent, making a growl deep in his throat. It grappled at her heart, that he desired even her smell.

And:

He set his chin on top of her head. “Just hold on to me for a while.”

With her eyes closed, in darkness, it was like being back in France, being blind, knowing Grey by the touch and smell of him. After a time, a clock sounded in one of the rooms along the hall. Seven strokes. His back muscles tightened under her hands, and she knew the little truce between them was over. Truces were of that nature. They ended, sooner or later.

He let her go. “I shouldn’t have made love to you this afternoon. I’ve made you doubt your own judgment. You’d trust me better if your body weren’t hungry for me.” He looked down and traced the shell of her ear with his fingertip. “See? When you feel even that much, you pull back, thinking I’m trying to manipulate you.”

“Are you not?”

He opened his hand, as if he released something. “I don’t know how to convince you. I want you so much I can’t think clearly.”

One final example:

Grey’s hand moved lightly to the nape of her neck, beneath her hair, warm against her skin. He did this to strengthen and reassure her. She had the thought that it does not take much to convince a woman she is in love if one is even a little kind to her when she is alone and frightened.

Sorry, I can’t resist. One last one:

“Oh.” She breathed onto his shoulder. “Well.” He could feel each separate breath. Neither of them moved. Slowly she let her forehead lower till it rested against him. Her tongue—a soft, warm touch—tasted him. Tasted his skin.

He knew for sure, then. This hit her as hard as it hit him. They were both lost. No way back for them.

His hand shook with the effort of keeping control. Slow. He had to go slow. He didn’t trust himself to touch her anywhere but her hair. Her neck. The shell of her ear.

By the end of this book, I was more than a little in love with Grey, myself! He’s strong, capable, ruthless, and utterly determined. And his pursuit and eventual winning of Annique is the most sensual 367 pages I’ve ever had the privilege of reading. Grey truly did capture my heart.

So how does one define sensual?

A dictionary definition is: of, or arousing gratification of, the senses and physical, especially sexual, pleasure.

I think the key words here are “arousing the senses”. For some people, physical beauty is arousing. A sculpted physique or a beautifully proportioned body really does it for them. I can admire physical beauty in a hero—boy, can I what! But for a truly sensual hero, I need more. For example, I have a huge crush on Vin Diesel. Listening to him is like bathing in warm liquid chocolate. That man…. All he needs to do is speak and I’m weak-kneed. A Facebook friend of mine agrees. She swears Vin could read the phone book aloud and make it sound sexy.

But I would be irritated as heck by the heroine commenting ad nauseam about her hero’s chocolately voice. His voice is something I want to know about, of course, just like I want to know about his physical looks. But once I have those fixed in my mind, I’m more interested in what goes on inside his head, and how he treats the heroine. I’m greedy. I want to be gratified by all the components that make up a hero. His looks. His voice. His actions. His inner thoughts. And I want all the heroine’s senses to be aroused by him, too.

The way I see it, like all good things, arousing all the senses takes time.

For me, the most important characteristic a sensual hero can possess is patience. He knows what he wants. He’ll stop at nothing to get it. He’s smart enough to know that if he goes too fast, he’ll lose his prize, AKA the heroine. His method? Slow, sensual seduction. He cherishes all of her little quirks, shows her that he cares about her in a myriad of tiny ways. He entices all her senses but respects her wishes, even as he challenges her and does her head in. He never crosses that invisible line she has metaphorically inscribed in the sand, no matter how much his lust-fueled masculine parts demand otherwise. And when that invisible line is finally crossed, it’s apparently all the heroine’s idea… and then he pounces and she doesn’t have a chance. *evil grin*

I was allocated the Sensual Hero as part of our Writers Gone Wild “We Give Great Hero” series by fellow Wild Woman, Jennifer, who commented, “You have the perfect two-cock alien pleasure slave.” Jenn’s one smart cookie. She’s read my SFR book, From The Ashes, so she must have a reason for believing that Asher, despite his extra set of male parts, and despite being genetically bred as a sex slave, is an example of a Sensual Hero.

After giving it some thought, I think she’s right. Asher is a Sensual Hero. Through the mental bond he shares with Calista he knows her deepest thoughts and desires. He knows she lusts after him in the worst way. But he also knows how she feels about slavery, and that if she fucked him, she’d not be able to forgive herself for taking advantage of him, using him. So rather than using his obvious charms to seduce her and satisfy her sexually, he is determined to overcome his genetic programming, and become the man she wants him to be. His own man, in other words. A man who is worthy of being loved by a woman like Calista, rather than a victim bred to be a plaything for others. And along the way, while he learns to stand up for himself and his own needs, and defend himself against those who desire to use him, he must convince Calista that she, too, is worthy of being loved and cherished.

How does he do that? By holding back whenever she becomes too overwhelmed by his sexuality and her own physical needs. Whenever she’s provoked to space her morals and beliefs out the airlock and jump his bones, no matter how much Asher wants her, he is her voice of reason. And because he knows all her secrets and understands what motivates her, Asher becomes the man who finally helps Calista to let go of the past, and embrace a future where she can love and be loved…. By him, of course. It is a romance, after all!

I believe that Jace, the hero of Kat On A Hot Tin Roof (my novella in Red Sage’s Secrets Volume 30: Desires Unleashed anthology due out on July 30) is a sensual hero, too…. Eventually. When Kat finally allows him to be.

In one of my favorite scenes, he turns up on her doorstep, only to find an exhausted, sleep-deprived, stressed to the max woman. So what does he do? He runs her bath, pours her a glass of wine, takes care of her. Even more importantly, he sits beside the bath to keep her company while she relaxes, and lets her quiz him about his childhood. Which is a Big Deal so far as Kat’s concerned, because he’s finally revealing himself to her in a way that’s even more intimate than sex.And when Jace comes back from paying the pizza delivery boy, and discovers Kat’s fallen asleep in the bath, he tucks her into bed and doesn’t join her—even though it just about kills him not to crawl in with her. What a man. *sigh*

So there it is: my take on the Sensual Hero. Long may he grace the pages of our books!

And I’d love for y’all to share your own thoughts about Sensual Heroes, and share any particular examples that you’ve come across. Any takers?

:-)

Maree

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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.