Day 2 - Wave - My Heroes

Today I want to talk about my Heroes. I had a debate with myself over what qualities I was looking for in my "literary" heroes and I decided that they had to be characters that would make any woman get up in the morning, they would be warm, brave (not necessarily in the traditional sense) and they had to be both vulnerable and strong. If they were good looking that would be a bonus. So here's my list of heroes in no particular order

First up is tiny, perfect Heller Whitting (or Hell) from Heaven Sent 3: Hell is a great character who never let his small stature get in the way of making demands and getting what he wanted, and what he wanted was Brent Rose, his unlikely love interest in the band. Hell is the flamboyant keyboardist with lavender hair who commanded both his audience and Brent, who never stood a chance in the game of love.


Next is Lord Drake, a mercenary in The Mercenary's Tale by Lynn Lorenz. He is both strong (as would be expected of a mercenary) and vulnerable. This character fell in love with his trainee, Ansel, against his better judgment, and after he lost him in a firefight he could not move on with his life because of grief. The tenderness between the two men, culminating in the scene when Drake searched for Ansel on the battlefield, and eventually found him as he lay dying among the bodies of men and horses and held him for hours afterwards, really moved me.




Detective Sean O'Brian from The Assignment, another strong but vulnerable character (is there a pattern here?) is my next hero. Sean is the supposed beta in the relationship with his partner, Detective Nick Valenti, but his size is deceptive. I think that Sean's personality is the key to the success of the book as he plays a dangerous role, emotionally and physically, in their undercover assignment.



Jake Taggart from Bareback is next. Jake had a perfect life as a foreman on a ranch in Arkansas and everything is proceeding according to plan until another cowboy, Tornado, forces him to admit that he could love someone - another man. This is such a powerful book about the human condition and how we as people always manage to screw up, despite good intentions. Jake experiences many emotions on the way to happiness as he has to deal with betrayal and learn how to forgive. I think that Jake is one of Chris Owen's best characters and every time I read this book I love Jake more.


Keiran Hareldson, the draegan lord from the series of the same name, is my next hero. Keiran is the new leader of the draegans, a race of dragon shapeshifters. He has to rebuild his race and make his people believe that they can win a war that has been raging for over 100 years. When he falls for a human, Gaige Rizik, who infiltrated the draegans in order to betray him, it makes his job even more difficult. How he deals with his love for Gaige, his people's distrust of the newcomer, and his own fears that he will be found wanting as a leader when he is tested, made him an extremely complex and charismatic character.



Captain Simon Hollister and Prince Payton Townsend: These characters from J.L. Langley's newest book, The Englor Affair, are two of my favourites from her Sci Regency series. Simon is commanding, gorgeous and has all the qualities that any woman would look for in a hero but unfortunately he only has eyes for men, and one man in particular, Prince Payton Townsend. Payton is smart, great looking, enterprising, and loves Simon even if that love means he has to give him up. They have to deal with murder and mayhem and overcome all kinds of nasty surprises and fit in some hot love scenes in between a potential nuclear meltdown, and still manage to stay on top of everything with not a hair out of place.


Well there you have it - my current heroes - all of whom are gay. I guess that says that I have a quirk in my personality because none of them would be attracted to me.