Saturday, December 20, 2008

Day 3 ~ Samantha Kane

My Favorite Heroes From My Books (And one thing no one but me knows about them.)

#7 Derek Knightly At Love’s Command
I loved writing Derek. It’s that simple. His biting sarcasm and wounded temper tantrums were so much fun to write. It was a challenge to turn a snarky bully-boy into a romantic hero. Derek’s secret: Sophie nearly won their chess matches a time or two, but he’ll never admit it.

#6 Edmund James A Lady In Waiting
A naughty vicar? What’s not to love about that? Again, Edmund was fun to write. Completely carnal and convinced of his unsuitability to be a vicar, but it’s clear he has a caring nature and a deep sense of responsibility even as he seduces the good widow Bartlebyrne. Edmund’s secret: He’d like nothing more than to pin Sylvie against the vestry door and make her scream. Repeatedly.

#5 Bertie Thorne Retreat From Love
Technically Bertie’s not a hero in the book. He’s Freddy’s dead brother, only briefly mentioned in previous Brothers In Arms books. But from the very start I knew that Bertie’s death had shaped the man Brett was. I knew who Bertie was but I knew readers didn’t. I hope in Retreat From Love I’ve given them an understanding of who he was and why so many people grieved so deeply for him. I don’t really want to give away a lot here. But suffice to say that even though he’s dead he’s very much a presence in the book. Bertie’s secret: He would have shared Anne with Brett.

#4 Daniel Steinberg The Courage to Love, Love Under Siege, At Love’s Command
Daniel doesn’t have his own book yet, but he’s already got his own story. In my head, at least. Daniel is one of the most complicated Brothers in Arms. A homosexual Jewish dandy in Regency England, Daniel doesn’t quite fit, in society and even among his friends. He seems bright, vivacious, witty, and yet there’s a dark undertone to him that I only began to explore in At Love’s Command. Broken by love and fighting his inner demons, Daniel’s story is going to be a truly redemptive one. Daniel’s secret: He has horrible taste in men. He always seems to choose the ones who walk all over him and break his heart.

#3 René Dubois Islands
Oo la la, René is a Frenchman to his very core. I loved writing a twentieth-century hero who was openly gay. It was very freeing. And I got to throw in wonderful French phrases and endearments, like m’apollon, which means loverboy. His seduction of Lt. Commander Gabriel Conlan, U.S. Navy Seabee, was a dream to write. I can’t wait for you all to read it! I know, I’m a horrible tease today. Anyway, René’s secret: (I could put anything here. At this point you know nothing!) He love, love, loves anything American. ;-)

#2 Brett Haversham Retreat From Love
Ah, Brett. Always the level-headed one, the calm center in the storm that has so often been Brothers In Arms. Underneath he’s a seething cauldron of repressed desires and guilt. Of course, you say, it’s Brothers In Arms, lol. You’re right of course, but this boy has been seriously repressing. The best part about finally giving Brett his own book was letting all of those repressed feelings free, not just desire and love, but anger and resentment and guilt. And holy Toledo was he a caged beast pacing to be freed. When he finally has a chance to make love to Anne and Freddy he’s a force of nature to be reckoned with. Brett’s secret: Well, that’s the point. He’s got a lot. I mean A LOT. But the most obvious is he’s been in love with Freddy for almost as long as Freddy’s been in love with him. Oh, he also likes to talk dirty. And leather. Oops, not telling any more.

#1 Stephen Matthews The Courage to Love, Love Under Siege, Love’s Strategy, At Love’s Command, Retreat From Love

This is no secret. I think I confessed that Stephen was my favorite over at Nose In A Book ages ago. His character has been instrumental in all the Brothers In Arms books, and he lends a legitimacy to the love triangles in the series as a vicar who accepts these unusual relationships. But there’s just something about Stephen . . . he seems so good that you just know he can be just as bad as he is good. ;-)
His character really struggles with the big theme of good vs. evil, right vs. wrong. He’s a good man in a world that can be very bad, and he struggles everyday to make sense of it for himself and for those around him. Stephen is my anchor character. I’ve shown that he can be pious and caring (The Courage to Love), empathetic and humorous (Love Under Siege), manipulative (Love’s Strategy), and kind (At Love’s Command). We know he’s killed a man but never slept with one, and in Retreat we’re going to see that he has some demons of his own left over from the war. He’s waiting patiently for his story because he knows all good things come in time. Stephen’s secret: He’s desperately, despairingly in love. After all, he’s a romance hero. ;-)

14 comments:

lisabea said...

Stephen.Yum. And Derek, kicked back in my cabana, waves hello and doesn't seem surprised in the least to be on this list (although I swear he rolled his eyes over the chess comment)

But.

Where's the super amazing, wheatie eating, unflagging Ian?

(He's in Sula's hut)

Bev(QB) said...

"Stephen’s secret: He’s desperately, despairingly in love."

Oh, that is SOOOOOO not fair! Do we get ANY hints? Because he really IS the most mysterious of the bunch.

Samantha Kane said...

lb ~ It was hard to leave Ian off the list, but I was limited to 7 men. And the level of favoritism is a slim margin between them, so Ian would be racing right behind his beloved Derek--not surprisingly. ;-)

Bev ~ Nope. No hints. But I can tell you that you have not met them yet.

Tracy said...

I love all the men from your books. It that wrong? lol

Great post, Sam!

Samantha Kane said...

Tracy ~ How can it be wrong, when it feels so right? ;-)

Tracy said...

My thoughts EXACTLY111 lol

Samantha Kane said...

Great minds think alike. :-D

Sarah said...

Steven, merow. I love that whole inner struggle thing. Makes for much good reading!

Samantha Kane said...

I'm all about the inner struggle. But who should we make FZ? Not Stephen. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that. Smart and sexy. Who, who, who?

Anonymous said...

Are you still planning to write Very, Kensington & Wolf's story this year? I'm looking forward to them the most, I think.

Samantha Kane said...

I think Very, Kensington and Wolf have been pushed back to early 2010, unless I have a completely unprecedented writing streak this year, lol. Gideon and Charles story is coming next, you'll meet them in Retreat From Love. Then quite possibly a short BIA with Simon, (I'm still toying with that idea), and then Very's story.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sad Very, Michael & Wolf are being pushed back! That's the one I'm waiting for the most!!!!

Samantha Kane said...

Julie~ You and half the universe it seems, lol! I get mail everyday demanding to know when I'm going to write their story. I really just think Very is still a little too young, and I don't want to jump ahead too fast.

And an update, you will be getting a BIA novella before Gideon and Charles' story. The novella will feature new characters.

Bev(QB) said...

Julie, as Sam well knows, I am firmly in the "Very's too young" camp.

Yeah, I know, for that time period she isn't, but for my modern day sensibilities, an erotic romance centered around someone we've thought of through so many books as a kid just sets my creep-o-meter alarms ringing.

So I'm actually RELIEVED that Very's story is delayed till she gets a bit older. Besides, that just means we'll get lots more good 'uns in the meantime!

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