T.A. Chase - My Heroes - DIK Day 2

Heroes-What kind do you lust after?

First, I'd like to thank all the DIK ladies, especially Wave, for inviting me to come join them for a couple days. Boy, do I need this tropical vacation. *kicks off the flip-flops, settles onto lounge chair, and sips from drink*

What am I doing here? *glancing around at all the hunky men surrounding me*

Oh right, I came to talk about men...heroes to be exact. As readers, we know that heroes are a dime a dozen. Every book has one, and in books like mine, there are even two heroes for the price of one. They are diverse as the snowflakes falling from the sky. Oh wait, we're on a desert island..ummm...as diverse as the grains of sand on the beach. Every story needs a hero, someone the reader can get behind and cheer for.

But what makes a great hero? If I had the answer, all my books would sell millions of copies. (Okay, so I can dream, can't I?..lol) Each reader has a preference for what kind of hero they like to read, because they connect with that type better than others. I thought I'd list a few of my favorites.

1. The Alpha Male: A lot of readers like a take-charge kind of guy. A man who knows who he is, what he wants, and isn't afraid to take it. Those arrogant characters are the ones we love to see taken down a peg or two without crushing them. We want to see them grovel at their lover's feet or be confused by all these 'strange' emotions they're feeling and when that happens, they tend to run rough-shod over everyone, either back-pedaling away from the one they love or they stampede forward, like a bull in a china shop. We're left cringing and sympathising with the object of their affection. Yet we can't help loving those tough guys. The best example of an Alpha Hero in my books is Vlatko from Stealing Life. He's definitely a take-charge arrogant man, but Rue knocks him for a loop.

2. The Beta Hero: He's not as in your face as the Alpha man. Steady and dependable, he'll always be there for you, but doesn't believe strong arm tactics are necessary to prove his point. In some ways, he's willing to take a back seat to the other characters, but we don't want him disappearing into the wallpaper. He needs to have an interesting personality, but not overbearing. The Beta doesn't have to be stunningly gorgeous, but pleasingly handsome. While they might be side-swiped by love, they don't always fight it like an Alpha will because they tend to be more in touch with their emotions. Hmmm...a Beta hero is a little harder to find, but I think Les from No Going Home is an interesting example of a Beta Hero with some Alpha tendencies...lol. He wants Randy, but he's willing to let their relationship progress at its own speed, so that Randy can feel comfortable with it.

3. The Anti-Hero: I'll admit that I'm partial to the anti-hero. The man who doesn't want to have anything to do with anyone. He just wants to live his life or survive the battle. There's no real thought of falling in love or caring about anyone else besides himself. Yet when a man like that gets caught up in a situation where he has no choice, but to save everyone else along with himself, he doesn't hesitate to do whatever it takes. Saving the world, a person, or the universe is secondary to saving his own skin. Those types of guys are the most interesting to watch fall in love, because even more than the Alpha, the Anti-Hero fights it tooth and nail, and won't even admit that he's in love when pressed. Seeing an unapologetic loner realize he can't live without this one other person is, for me, the most entertaining story of all. I'll admit I haven't written an Anti-Hero yet, but I have a couple of stories that are in different stages of completion that where one of the heroes would be considered an Anti-Hero. Hopefully, you be able to spot them when they come out.

Of course, all the heroes must be flawed in some way. Not necessarily physically, but in some way emotionally. We, as readers, want to see our heroes heal and grow throughout the story and by the end, be healed or at least not be as damaged as they were in the beginning. We don't want them perfect. Perfection is wonderful to look at, but too difficult to achieve. And to be honest, I've been unable to trust a man who seems perfect. I've found there's always something hidden behind all that perfection.

So, tell me what type of hero do you like and give me examples of them. (You don't have to use just my books. Any hero from any book works for me.) I'll be picking a name from the commenters and giving away a copy of one of my books. (If you already have all of them out, I might be persuaded to give you one of my books that hasn't be published yet. Though you'd have to wait until I got the final edits finished for them.)

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow, when I'll be talking about music and how my stories tend to have theme songs to them. :)