THE PERFECT HERO

By Caroline Clemmons

When you pick up a romance, what do you expect from the hero? Let’s talk about the main components of a hero, shall we?

 First, let’s get his appearance out of the way. Do you require a thick head of hair and perfect physique before a man can be a hero in your eyes?  Does he have to be a certain height, have a particular color of eyes, and wear his hair a certain way? If he’s bald, are all bets off? What if he’s a geek who wears glasses and isn’t that fit? What each of us means by “perfect” hero physically probably differs from one reader to the next. Not that I’m turned off by a handsome man, mind you, but I don’t care as much about his physical aspects as about his character.

For instance, I remember a friend who dated a wonderful man wo was crazy about her. She stopped seeing him because his hairline was receeding. She ended up marrying a nice looking guy who was an alcoholic who beat her.

Gregory Peck, one of my

favorite actor heroes ever

 

There are several qualities that are necessary for a hero, at least IMO. These qualities might not exist at the first of the book, but they’d better be there by the end or I want my money back.

 

[1] He has to be trustworthy. In our part of the country, you hear “His word is his bond.” That means if he says it, he’ll do it and you don’t need a contract to hold him to his word. No man with that reputation would risk losing it.

 

Chris Hemswrth

[2]  Loyalty. If he’s your friend, you don’t have to worry about him stabbing you in the back, figuratively or literally. He will defend you to others and, as the saying goes, have your back. Another saying from the Southwest along this line is “ride for the brand,” and it doesn’t just mean cowboys who work on a ranch.  If he takes a man’s money for a job, he won’t cheat his employer.

 

Michael B. Jordan

[3] Not afraid of commitment. Not just in romance, but I’m reminded of a man with whom man I once worked. He was in his thirties but still lived in the rented apartment he moved into for grad school, rented his office, leased a car, had the same girlfriend for five years—yet wondered why no one took him seriously as an adult. His lifestyle was still grad student. Talk about arrested development! 

Liam Hemsworth

(Are there any homely people

in their family?)

[4] Takes a stand. This may be a part of commitment, but I list it separately. It means he won’t be a “yes” man to anyone. He is not afraid to state his opinion about a course of action, and not afraid to follow up on that opinion.

 I’m sure you can think of more qualities you look for your heroes. Tell me what they are, and which you think are most important.

  

Changes in Reading and Writing

I don’t know about everyone else, but self-publishing and self-published authors promoting their books have drastically changed reading for me.

It used to be that I had a set of authors whose writing I consistently enjoyed, thus I always bought or borrowed their books and was perfectly happy reading in my comfort zone.

Now, every time I turn around, some author is touting a *free* book. And because many of my faves write only one book per year and because I’m cheap, like every other human on the planet, I download a lot of those free books onto my Kindle. So now I have such a mish-mash, I can’t decide what to try to read next. I’ve never had so many books I've started, but will never finish.

This experience has been a journey of discovery for me.….. Of the plethora of books I’ve downloaded, I’ve discovered a couple of authors whose free book I enjoyed, so I bought the second in a series or another book by the same author. Nine times out of ten, that has been a mistake because a lot of the time, the story falls apart in Book #2 and I'm disappointed.

I can see that it's a challenge to carry on an interesting story involving only two 2 characters (hero & heroine) throughout a three or even five-book series. I’m in the process of writing a trilogy myself and I am glad I didn’t choose to make it only about 2 characters. I’m glad I have a story arc that begins in Book #1 and ends in Book #3 because I don’t think I could pull it off if I just had the hero and heroine to work with.

Another vehicle I’ve discovered self-pubs using is to publish books that amount to short stories and end them with cliff hangers so that I’ll have to go on and buy the next book if I want to read the whole story. All I can say is that makes me feel cheated. And after disrespecting my intelligence as a reader in that way, an author would have to be telling a heck of story to make me buy Book #2.

And speaking of shorts, I’m close to finishing up a novella. But I’m clearly labeling it as a "novella" so that nobody will be expecting a 100,000-word book if they buy it. In the beginning, it was going to be an erotic novella, but after reading at least two, maybe three dozen erotic books, I’m not sure it’s erotic. It’s hot, with explicit steamy sex, but it’s not kinky. So I’m still undecided if I’m going to try to market it as “erotica.” 

Let me know what you think of the cover:

It does have a cliff-hanger ending, but it’s also a stand-alone story. A reader shouldn’t be disappointed if he or she doesn't read the next book. ….. Oh, and I might change the title. ..... Can anyone say “make up your mind?”

Is A Kiss Just A Kiss? by Joan Reeves

Is a kiss just a kiss? That's what Herman Hupfeld wrote in the song, As Time Goes By, better known as the love song from the movie Casablanca.

I've blogged before about kisses because a kiss is significant. To borrow part of something Mae West once said, it too is "an emotion in motion."

A kiss is magical, and a first kiss is something more. Something very special because of what it means emotionally, but also because of what it means physiologically.

In 1971, Desmond Morris published a ground-breaking book, Intimate Behavior: A Zoologist's Classic Study of Human Intimacy. In his book, he doesn't talk about the magic of a kiss. Instead, he talks about the 12 steps of human intimacy, of which The Kiss is just one step.

Human Intimacy

Morris begins with Step 1: Eye To Body – visually sizing up a potential mate – and ends with Step 12: Genital To Genital Contact – which you probably don't need defined.

Step 7 in Morris's study of intimate behavior is Mouth To Mouth – Kissing. In most romance novels, that first kiss is a seminal event in the growing relationship between heroine and hero. By the first kiss, the couple in question are acting on their desire, and they're curious as to how that kiss will make them feel. Will it knock their socks off or put the damper on their growing desire?

Romance Novel First Kiss

Obviously, much depends on that kiss. If it increases their desire, which it should, then they face the problem of backing away from each other if there are circumstances that keep them apart. Of course, they may, for their own reasons, disavow the effects of the kiss. After all, a romance is all about overcoming obstacles to achieve a worthy goal – each other.

I tend to believe that a kiss, especially a first kiss, is pure magic. Hollywood pays a lot of attention to the first kiss in romantic movies. I pay a lot of attention to the first kiss in the romance novels I write.

Here's an excerpt – the first kiss – from my latest contemporary romance, SCENTS and SENSUALITY, available at most ebook sellers.

Scents and Sensuality Excerpt, The Kiss

Was it really all right to be herself with him? To show her true personality? "Nicole said men prefer women who aren't so serious. She said men like women who are sexy and flirty. I'm not like that. I'm serious and thoughtful and introverted. And shy."

She was shy? Oddly, Harrison liked that. Most of the women he'd had in his bed didn't know the meaning of the word shy. He'd never had a woman hesitate to tell him in detail what to do, where to touch, how to touch, and when to touch as she pursued her own orgasm. As if he were so unskilled that he didn't know anything about women.

"I really don't know much about pop culture and clubbing and all the stuff that Nicole knows," Amanda said.

"Your friend doesn't know what she's talking about," Harrison said. He stopped moving. Now they weren't dancing. They were just swaying in time to the music. "There's nothing wrong with the real you, sweetheart."

With that one sentence, he had her. She could smell him, and his scent was strong. Musky. Maybe it was just physiology, she thought, with the tiny part of her brain that still worked. Something about her female pheromone receptors went bonkers when he was near. He'd said sweetheart. Amanda didn't know if it was what he'd said or the endearment that warmed her so completely.

In a voice so intense that it made gooseflesh break out on her arms, he said, "You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not. I like you just the way you are."

The song stopped. Still they swayed, cheek to cheek, breast to chest, heat to heat. The song started again.

"You're beautiful," he whispered against her cheek. "And you're incredibly sexy without playing silly games. You're sexy without even trying. And I want you."

His words wove a spell around her lonely heart. "I want you too," she confessed.

Harrison smiled and nuzzled the tender flesh of her neck where her pulse throbbed.

In a voice so soft that he had to strain to hear, Amanda said, "You don't have to say that...that I'm sexy. I...I won't change my mind about...about...you know." She fell silent.

Harrison pulled away from her a little so he could look at her, gauge her reactions. "Are you trying to say you won't change your mind about having a raging affair with me?"

Amanda took a deep breath and exhaled. She met his eyes directly. "Despite what you say, I know I'm not sexy. I just want to be honest with you. It's important to me to be honest. I don't like lies. They just cause problems. So here's the bald truth. I'm a flop with men, and I was desperate for a date for my cousin's wedding. Nicole helped me hook you. She tutored me on how to be a hot babe because that's what men want."

Harrison found it hard to accept that she believed all that. "That's a hell of a lot of honesty."

His comment was like the release gate on a dam. A flood of words poured out of Amanda. "I don't want you to be confused by Nicole's tricks and think I'm something I'm not. Even though I'm more than willing to...you know...have that raging affair with you."

Amanda spoke faster to get all the words out before she lost her courage. "I was just pretending. So you may not really want me now that you know the truth. I'm not a sexy hot babe, and you don't have to tell me I am just to--"

Harrison's mouth swooped down and captured hers, shutting off the frantic torrent of words. Amanda was frozen for a split second, then the feel of his mouth on hers broke through the paralysis. His lips were warm. They pressed against hers, teasing, shaping hers. The tip of his tongue licked, demanded entrance. She sighed, and his tongue plunged into her mouth. She forgot that she didn't know much about kissing. She welcomed him. She pressed her body as tightly as possible to his and couldn't hold back the moan that rose to her lips.

Win A Copy of Scents and Sensuality

Make a comment and be entered to win a $5.00 Starbucks Gift Card and a Smashwords Coupon for a free copy of Scents and Sensuality. Just leave your email address where I can contact you if you win and make arrangements for delivery of your prizes.

(Don't leave your email addy as a hot link or the web crawlers will grab it and you'll be spammed within an inch of your cyber life. Do it this way: YourName at Domain dot com.)

Bottom Line

I hope you'll enjoy watching Amanda and Harrison navigate all the steps of intimacy in a book that's sassy, sexy, and funny.

Joan Reeves is a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet who – no, wait, that's someone else. Seriously? Okay, if we must be serious. Joan Reeves is a multi-published author. Her books are available in ebook, audio, and print editions from all major retailers. Joan's Motto: "It's never too late to live happily ever after."

Find Joan Online: Blog * Website * About Me * Facebook * Google+ * Pinterest * Twitter * YouTube

Rethinking A Storyline? 

In 2011 when I penned Running To You, I really intended on including a serious storyline involving my lead character, Alexandra, that was completely out of the norm for medical issues commonly included in romance novels. 

In character, Alexandra lost her mom to breast cancer at the age of 12. She grew up without a motherly figure in her life and with an absent father, who buried himself in his company. The staff practically raised her. After college, she went on to sell medical devices to surgeons performing surgeries in the Breast Cancer field. 

The storyline that I scrapped included Alexandra having the test for the Breast Cancer Gene (known as BRCA I and BRCA II) because her mother had the disease and could’ve potentially passed the gene to her. Her test would’ve turned up positive, indicating her very high risk for developing breast cancer. It would’ve been discovered during her pregnancy and a turning point in her relationship with her boyfriend, Grayson, who just happened to be a surgeon, performing mostly breast cancer surgeries. 

Why would this be important and who would care, you might ask? 

In my real life, I sell products for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, a disease that has probably affected someone you know. It is a subject that is near and dear to my heart, since I have devoted over 20 years in this arena. At the time the novel was written, I wanted to write a medical romance, but I also wanted to use the opportunity to touch the reader in another way, a way that was real and relatable, but different and possibly new to readers. 

During beta reads of Running To You, the feedback provided to me indicated that the readers didn’t really understand the premise of having the BRCA tests performed and therefore, didn’t relate to it. So, I made the tough decision to scrap that part of the material and refocus the storyline a different direction. 

Fast forward to May 16, 2013

Angelina Jolie announces that she recently underwent a preventative double mastectomy in Feb. 2013 because she tested positive to the BRCA genetic testing, confirming that she carried the Breast Cancer gene. It was discovered that her risk of developing Breast Cancer was greater than 85%. Removing her breast decreased her likelihood of developing the disease by over 80%. (In an effort not to plagiarize prior writings, please see her story at http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/14/showbiz/angelina-jolie-double-mastectomy .) 

I’m very inspired by Angelina’s strength to be proactive in her health and more than likely, the most difficult decision she has ever made. I am even more in awe of her ability to undergo such public awareness and applaud her for her motivation and tenacity. I’m certain that her story will reach millions and influence many women to undergo the tests and feel confident about seeking further treatment, with the attitude “if Angelina can do it, I can do it.” I also applaud Brad Pitt for standing beside her and making a very public commitment to love her with or without breasts.

The recent events leave me revisiting my thoughts about my storyline.  At the time, I didn’t believe readers would’ve understood what it meant for my character to undergo treatment of removing her breast prophylactically for carrying the breast cancer gene and how this would affect her in such a profound way or how it would fit into the couple’s relationship.

In the future, I won’t be so timid about stepping out of the norm with my storylines. After all, we don’t want to read the same things over and over. My passion for all-things-pink haven’t gone away. Who knows, maybe the storyline will appear in another form in another story along my writing journey.

Up until two weeks ago, this storyline of genetic testing wasn’t a normal everyday conversation. Now, it’s epic! Cheers to Angelina for coming forward and graciously educating women everywhere! 

Hugs,

DeLaine

 

Author of Contemporary Romance

The Running Series:

Book 1: Running To You- now available in paperback and ebook at all major retailers.

Book2: Two Sides of a Heartbeat- expected Summer 2013

Book 3: Chasing Air- expected Fall 2013

Book 4: Forgiveness Creek- expected Holidays 2013

 

 

One lucky person commenting today today will receive an autographed copy of Running To You, released April 28th and a little bit of swag to go with it. All commenters will be entered to win the drawing for a Kindle Fire Giveaway at the end of June.

 

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