Heroes: A Sampling of Heroes, Starla Kaye Style

Essentially my view of fictional heroes is similar to what has been previously said by Nina, Rox, and Reese. So I’m not going to add yet another definition. Instead I will share tidbits about some of the heroes from my Decadent Publishing stories.

Maggie’s Secret Wish, part of the 1 Night Stand series from Decadent Publishing, gave me a chance to meet and fall in love with Ian MacDonald, just as Maggie did. Sometimes it is nice when a reviewer sees your characters and their conflicts they way you do. In this case, the reviewer from Sizzling Hot Reviews did and these are her thoughts:

Maggie has always picked out losers when it came to boyfriends. Her last one left her after a night of sex and made her doubt her own worth. Her best friend encourages her to send an email to Madame Eve to get back on the dating horse, but Maggie has been having a fantasy that she only shares with Madame Eve…and Madame Eve finds the perfect man to make it happen.

Ian MacDonald is a dashing Scottish man with a darling accent who is able to make any woman swoon. He writes erotica novels for a living and services women as a Dom part time. Jaded with his life, he takes his friend up on the suggestion to apply with Madame Eve and 1 Night Stand Dating Agency for a hot night with no commitments.

Maggie’s Secret Wish is an amazing story of a woman who wants to explore her sexuality. Madame Eve seems to know just what Maggie needs and sets about to make it happen. But Maggie is nervous and tries to back out. Even Ian takes some prodding to agree to it. Yet when the two come together, it is combustible! The idea of having a person know you so intimately that they can take care of your every need is a fantasy that everyone has. Maggie’s Secret Wish explores this concept in an exciting and tantalizing way. Just the idea of a man like Ian made me short of breath! I couldn’t imagine having him at my fingertips!

Starting Over was my second book in the 1 Night Stand series for Decadent Publishing. In this one I had a chance to explore another romance sub-genre that I hadn’t tried, GLBT. I wanted to try this, but I didn’t want to write your typical gay romance. I wanted to show men that any romance reader could feel strongly about, feel the pain they had suffered in the past, and pull for them as they struggled to move forward with their lives. As before, I will show you how a reviewer successfully understood the type of heroes I meant to create. Speedy from The Reader’s Roundtable After Dark said:

Starting Over is a coming of age story for Corbin Bradley who has already come of age. He’s been married and now, as an established and successful businessman, he’s finally come to terms with the fact that he can’t avoid his homosexuality. Through a push by his ex-wife, Corbin reaches out to a high-end matchmaking service and is paired off with Matt DuCharme. Matt had lost his lover and business partner in a tragic accident and had not moved on with his life. Through prodding of friends and his own inner voice saying “move-on” he also reached out to this same matchmaking service and the structure framing the story is set in motion.

Corbin and Matt each have unique histories and each has believable reasons to feel nervous and skeptical. Corbin is starting a new chapter of his life. As he explores the physical side of being gay, he takes to is it like a sex-starved teenager. Matt, still grieving, struggles with the guilt he feels as his attraction to Corbin unfolds. What I liked best about this story was how sweet and innocent the emotions were, each man experiencing pure, raw thoughts and feelings; one’s we can all relate to. Yet the sex between them was red hot and unapologetic. It was the perfect mix for me as a reader who loves an emotional journey but who is tantalized by the descriptions and visions evoked when reading sex scenes. What can I say? I love a heart-tugging romp fest.

My point is that fictional heroes vary so much and yet they all share something: they all touch a reader’s heart. Or they should. If they don’t, then the author hasn’t done his/her job.