Hello Everyone! Welcome to my May Symposium!
This month is all about our leading men. Do you go for the bad boy, the silent and brooding guy or the sweet and caring type of man?
I thought I’d asked my friends and fellow authors to give everyone a little inside peak at what their favorite type of heroes are and why. Read on and find out what everyone had to say!
I thought I’d asked my friends and fellow authors to give everyone a little inside peak at what their favorite type of heroes are and why. Read on and find out what everyone had to say!
LAURIE ROMA: I love variety when it comes to my leading men. Sometimes, I love the bad boy. Then again, I also love the sweet, caring kind of guy. Other times, I enjoy the slightly jaded brooder. But something that they all have to have in common is their honor and integrity. My type of hero doesn’t have to be perfect, but he has to be a good man under it all. He has to know how to love, and have a balance of possessive and protective qualities…and not have too many stupid male moments. :)
Katra Tesera is a female Dragon Warrior on a mission. Unsatisfied with the life her family wishes for her back on her home world, she seeks something more for her own future. When the opportunity to visit Earth arises, Katra is eager for the excitement and adventure of traveling the stars. She believes she is ready for whatever lies at the end of her journey, but nothing can prepare her for meeting her mate…the dark and dangerous Tarin warrior, Lord Jaden Tor.
Warlord Jaden Tor is a dedicated leader who is fighting a civil war to save his people. He has always known his path in life, but everything changes the moment he meets the dark-haired beauty with glowing silver eyes. Jaden wants to claim her for his own, however, there is more at stake than his own happiness…
When legacies are challenged, and with Tartarus in turmoil, can Jaden and Katra find a way to be together, or will their love be shattered by the chaos that threatens everything around them?
Warlord Jaden Tor is a dedicated leader who is fighting a civil war to save his people. He has always known his path in life, but everything changes the moment he meets the dark-haired beauty with glowing silver eyes. Jaden wants to claim her for his own, however, there is more at stake than his own happiness…
When legacies are challenged, and with Tartarus in turmoil, can Jaden and Katra find a way to be together, or will their love be shattered by the chaos that threatens everything around them?
EVANGELINE ANDERSON: The longer I write, the more interest I have in
twisted, complex characters with shadowy, painful pasts. I suppose they represent more of a challenge
to write than your average good guy in a white hat. My hero, Laish, in Ruby
Shadows, the third book in my Born To Darkness series, is such a character. As a
fallen angel he has seen the best of Heaven and the worst of Hell and he has
been scarred and hardened by his experiences. The reader may feel he is past
redemption but then Laish gets called to the Mortal Realm by my heroine,
Gwendolyn, who happens to come from a long line of Creole witches. What follows
is an unforgettable trip through Hell itself. Laish is cast in the role of
protector and he must keep Gwendolyn safe not only from all the dangers of the
Infernal Realm, but also himself. He is drawn to her, though he cannot
understand why and in the end he has to make a terrible choice between
betraying her to save her life...and losing her forever.
Nothing is
for free when it comes to demons…a fact that Gwendolyn LaRoux finds out the
hard way when she summons Laish, a minor demon from the Shadow Lands to help
her cook up a little black magic. Unfortunately black magic has a way of
growing and soon Gwendolyn finds herself drowning in darkness. Still, she’s
determined to clean up her own mess. But when a creature from the Abyss enters
our world and threatens her beloved grandmother, Gwendolyn has to admit she
needs help—which means summoning the infuriating Laish, even though she swore
never to call on him again.
Answering
Gwendolyn’s incantations in a moment of boredom was a mistake for a demon who
keeps what little heart he has left under lock and key. Laish immediately fell
for the Creole beauty with jade green eyes and creamy, café au lait skin and
now he’s determined to have her—no matter what the cost. And thanks to
Gwendolyn’s sticky dilemma, the price just went up.
When it
turns out that the intrepid witch must travel through the Shadow Lands and
close the door she left open to the Pit, she knows at once she can’t make the
dangerous journey on her own. Of course Laish is more than willing to act as
her escort and bodyguard…for a not-so-small fee. Gwendolyn doesn’t want to use
her body as a bargaining chip but the lustful demon will accept no other form
of currency. And since her grandmother’s life is at stake, she has no choice.
Little by little she must give in to his demands.
As Gwendolyn
and Laish travel further and further into the interior of Hell, will he be able
to keep her safe? And will she be able to keep her innocence? Or with they lose
themselves and each other among the… Ruby Shadows?
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N.J. WALTERS: When it comes to reading romance, we all have our favorite kind of
hero—billionaire, cop, military veteran, cowboy, biker, the guy next door,
Viking, Regency lord, warlord—the list is endless. My favorite to read and to
write is the wounded hero. This is the man who has been through hell and
doesn’t want to be anyone’s hero. All he wants is to be left alone. This
tortured soul can be anyone from a cop who has seen too much and become
disillusioned with the system, a military veteran who can’t forget the horrors
of war, to an eternal shape-shifting warrior who feels he has lost his soul to
the darkness. This man may not always do what other people think he should, but
he has his own code and he lives by it. When the chips are down, he does the
right thing, even at great cost to himself.
Now that the
five-thousand-year curse that kept him and his fellow shapeshifting warriors
trapped in animal form has been lifted, Mordecai doesn’t quite know what to do
with himself. He is free—in theory.
Hell left
its stain on his soul, and his relationship with the warriors who once trusted
him is uneasy. The only bright spot in his life is Jessica, whose shining
innocence he dare not taint with his inner darkness. But it’s getting harder
and harder to stay away from her.
Jessica
longs for the days she and Mordecai shared an easy friendship. Now he seems as
distant as the stars. He denies there’s a problem, but she’s determined to
penetrate his shields.
Hades has
been plotting his revenge from his prison. He can’t harm Mordecai without
harming himself. But there’s nothing to stop him from wreaking havoc by hurting
the one woman Mordecai would give his life to protect—Jessica.
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LACEY THORN: I have a tendency to write alpha males. I like the type of man who steps
up and takes charge. I don’t want him to be an asshole. He can have a moment
here or there, but I don’t want it to be his personality. He needs to be the
protector. He has to understand his woman’s worth and never forget what she
brings to him. Respect is key. Love is mandatory. Faithfulness? Not even an
option. If he cheats, he’s out. He can be the biggest badass out there, but
when he takes his woman in his arms, he needs to become weak with need and
hunger. That’s the man I envision when I write. Some are more outspoken. Some
are quiet. They all are willing to step up to the plate and be the man their
woman needs.
Legend
awakened...
Reno has
known there was more to him since he awoke in the hospital, alive when he
should have died. Only one thought consumed him. Find Tah. Watch over him.
Protect him. Then everything changed.
A tempted
tiger...
A mission
gone wrong brings him face to face with a woman who tempts his tiger from
hiding. He wants her with a fierce hunger that consumes him and shocks him with
the possessive nature she awakens.
Mine
Amia belongs
nowhere. Not with the Blane family of hunters she was born into, and not with
the dominant man who kidnaps her and turns her world upside down. She runs. She
fights. And when the time comes, she pays the price. Running isn't an option,
and there's no fighting a man who turns her inside out with unquenchable lust.
Maybe, just maybe, she's found where she belongs.
BUY LINKS:
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| RESPLENDENCE
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| KOBO
SUSAN HAYES: For me, it’s all about the sass. I love a hero with a wicked sense of
humor. He might use humor to hide his pain, or he could just have been born a
smartass, but invariably I am drawn to a hero who isn’t afraid to laugh at
himself or the world around him. I love a bit
of witty banter, or a kissable mouth turned up into a grin. Toss in the gleam
of laughter in the hero’s eyes and you’ve got the ingredients for a book that
will have me reading until the wee hours of the morning. My love of laughter
spills over into the heroes I write, too. My latest hero, a fierce gargoyle
shifter named Vamir, has a wicked sense of humor hidden beneath his stony
exterior.
Two souls
bound by fate. Two lovers enslaved by magic.
Vamir Halmar
is the Commander of the last Company of Guardians. When a summoning spell
targets the wrong man and drops Vamir into the enemy’s hands, he discovers his
salvation in the form of a beautiful slave with quicksilver eyes and the heart
of a warrior.
Torn from
her family and home before she had grown into her powers, Gwyneth Annaren has
spent most of her life as the unwilling servant to one of the most fearsome
Magi. When Vamir is accidently summoned by her master, she finds herself face
to face with a living reminder of the past she has forced herself to
forget. The handsome guardian is as
dangerous to her as he is compelling, tempting her to dream of freedom and an
end to her loneliness.
Can they
have a future together, or will the price of their freedom be paid in sacrifice
and heartbreak?
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ROSANNA LEO: Thanks so much to Laurie for hosting us once again! The right man, huh?
My favorite subject. There are so many delicious heroes out there but at the
end of the day, the ones that get my heart pumping are the ones with
confidence. Not ego, that's different. I'm talking about a man who is sure of
himself, no matter his station in life or romantic situation. As my heroine
Winn says in The Stand-In, I like a hero whose roguish grin hints "at past
misadventures and the willingness to partake in more." This is the sort of
hero who sees right through you, into your soul. He knows what you need and
isn't afraid to give it to you. A hero with cheeky confidence sets my heart fluttering
and inspires my fingers to fly over the keyboard. He's the man who makes me
dream.
Who makes
you dream?
Failed
actress Winn Busby is at the end of her rope. With no money and no prospects,
she accepts the one job she never thought she’d see on her résumé. Professional
bridesmaid. It should be easy. If only the idea of weddings and vows didn't
give Winn a case of the hives. Her role becomes more challenging when she's
told a reporter will shadow her work for a men's magazine article.
Working for
Player Magazine is Patrick Lincoln's worst nightmare. A former political
journalist, he used to write thoughtful columns for one of Toronto's most
respected papers. That is, until he was blackballed for allegedly sleeping with
the boss's wife. Overnight, Patrick becomes the city's most reviled bad boy.
And now he's forced to write a seedy expose on, of all things, a bridesmaid.
Patrick
begrudgingly accompanies Winn to a series of strange weddings. As they are
forced to work together, he learns there is more to the stand-in bridesmaid
than puffy dresses and pretty speeches. She, in turn, begins to question
whether or not Patrick actually deserves the derision of his peers. As much as
they fight their attraction, it begins to threaten their work and their sanity.
For so long,
Winn has felt second-best. A stand-in. She finally meets a man who believes in
her value. But can she let go of the past and accept him?
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JENIKA SNOW: My favorite type of hero is definitely the over the top alpha. The type
of hero that sees the heroine, is immediately obsessed, and has to do
everything in his power to be with her. He can’t stay away from the heroine, is
possessive, territorial, and just overall insane for the heroine. But there
also has to be devotion, trust, and of course love. He isn’t the type of hero
that can be redeemed right away, because of course he’ll have this darkness in
him that makes him a hero that the reader just has to root for.
Jana Finley
just wants to escape from her abusive ex and start over with her son. She never
envisioned her new life involving a motorcycle club. Even with the sex,
partying, and violence that surrounds the MC, one biker in particular
fascinates her.
From the
moment Boston “Tuck” Oakley saw Jana he wanted her. When Jana is abducted right
off club property something inside of him snaps. A beast emerges, thirsty for
the blood of the one that took her. With vengeance running his blood cold, he
will do whatever it takes to find her and kill anyone that stands in his way.
But time is
running out, so in order to find Jana, Tuck resorts to something that puts the
club in danger. Because of that betrayal his patch and even his life are on the
line. He must find some way to make it right with the MC, as well has convince
Jana that being with him isn’t the absolute worst mistake she’ll ever make.
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ELODIE PARKES: My favorite hero is such a complex character little wonder I've never met
him in real life, so it’s great I can at least find him in stories, mine, and
other authors’. He’s sweet, sexy, sometimes alpha, sometimes vulnerable, often
caring. He’ll share his thoughts and fears. He’ll do things with you that don’t
always align with his interests. He knows what he wants, and will go after it.
He’s intelligent, muscled and handsome, and best of all he’s extra loving. Once
he loves you, he’ll never let you down. He’s so great at sex just the thought
of his kiss makes you go gooey. All my heroes are complex and I fall in love
with everyone one them. Sighs.
Cade’s
trying to get over a broken heart when his friend Jack takes him off to a
nightclub, named only, The Club. Although at first Cade is shocked by the
place, he meets Marissa. It’s not long before he and Marissa get together, but
under the pressure of mixed emotions, and Marissa’s fear of commitment, they’re
both running in opposite directions.
Gorgeous
Cade has touched Marissa’s heart in ways she doesn’t want to admit.
Lovely
Marissa has lifted Cade’s sadness and opened his heart to love again.
The trouble
is — someone has to give a little. Who’s it going to be?
A
contemporary erotic romance with a sprinkle of BDSM
BUY LINKS:
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UK | BOOKSTRAND | EVERNIGHT
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HAZEL GOWER: Thanks so much for inviting me to be a part of your blog. I love this
discussion, The Right Man. This can be answered in so many ways and is
different for everyone. I like my book
men to be very alpha, but I can tell you my hubby isn’t that alpha, shh, don’t
tell him I’m telling everyone, I still love him though. Now if we
were talking about my favourite type of hero to write, I’d have to say, tall,
muscular, and I myself am partial to blue eyes, and a nice olive skin. Hair,
you’ll find I have a decent amount of redheads in my books, or as my hubby
says, ‘strawberry blond’. Personality,
wow, that’s hard. I think it depends on the individual and what they’re looking
for. I like to have my male characters positive, possessive, caring,
trustworthy, protective, sure of themselves and at least have a direction of
where they want their life to go. Now not all my men have this, but that’s what
I personally like them to have, sometimes a male character can be bordering on
none of those qualities and I really have to work with him and help guide him
in at least the right direction.
My new book
Gordon’s Dawn, Gordon needed a little push.
Gordon Wilks
thought he had it all—women, power, and money—until a car accident had him
questioning what he really wanted in life.
Moving to
Australia where no one knows him, Gordon has a plan to find what he really
wants, which is everything he never had and thought he didn’t need—until now—a
woman to love him and to become his wife. His new neighbor in Australia, with
her gothic looks, horrible taste in music, and amazing cooking gets in his way.
Dawn has a
new neighbor, who at first is almost as bad as her last—calling the police on
her for her loud music a couple of nights a week. One night, things change when
she opens her door—not to the police, but to her new handsome neighbor.
Gordon gave
himself a year to find a potential wife, and that year is close to an end. He
finally gives in to the attraction he feels for Dawn despite their differences.
Once he faces his true feelings, he realizes she’s the only one for him, and he
has fallen in love with her.
Only, his
time is now up and he needs to go back to his old life. The problem is Dawn has
no idea he is Gordon Wilks, CEO of Wilks and Co Financial, and the only son of
a Dallas dynasty family. She thinks he is a lowly bartender.
Will Dawn
stay with him when she learns the truth?
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S.J. MAYLEE: I write about the kind of men that light my fire. They’re definitely a
bit brooding. They can’t seem to help themselves from caring. In fact, once
they fall in love, they’ll face just about anything to keep their heroine safe. My newest
hero, I love him something fierce, may appear like your standard businessman.
He’s an assassin for hire. The bad boy he may be, but I swoon for the way he
saves his heroine. *fans self*
Life is
passing Nadia Duskin by from her position in the mailroom. It only fulfills two
necessities, keeping the repo man away and keeping her up to date on her sexy
CEO.
Ethan Wright
is prepared to frighten and fire the nosey girl who sorts his company’s mail.
After engaging with her at one of his favorite places in the world, he digs
deeper.
Together,
they find the kind of pleasure that could keep them satisfied for a lifetime.
Her love may be the key to putting both of their lives back on track, but to
what end? When a man he’s been contracted to kill threatens Nadia’s life, he
forces her to face reality. Either they’ll delve deeper into the desires
neither expected or they may die trying.
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KALI ARGENT: I would have to say my favorite type of hero is a little bit of
everything, the everyday hero, so to speak. I like men who are secure in their
manhood, but aren’t afraid of stake a claim to what belongs to them.
Possessive, but not jealous. Protective, but not smothering. It’s a delicate
balance between being Alpha and being overbearing, and my favorite heroes are
the ones who tread that wire with ease. I want men who aren’t intimidated by
strong women, but would also go to the ends of the earth to protect them, even
from themselves. I have to admit that men are a constant source of confusion
for me, but at the end of the day, I think I kind of like the mystery, the
unpredictability, and I want my heroes the same way.
A
scroll with exceptional abilities, Camille Brighton lived a life of wealth and
privilege until tragedy changed everything. The gifts that had once made her
special are suddenly a curse to be feared, and she finds herself a captive in
her own home with a world of possibilities just beyond her reach. When the
demons of her past return, though, forcing her to flee to the outer rim of
Alliance territory, she soon realizes freedom isn’t exactly the adventure she’d
thought it would be.
Running
from his own past on Helix, Tariq Navarra has spent the last nine years as a
mechanical engineer on Beta Station 4. Life has proven the only person he can
depend on is himself, and he’s built an impenetrable wall around his heart,
wearing suspicion and distrust like a second skin. Then a slip of a woman
carrying the scent of fresh rain and lavender turns his world upside down with
just a smile. He’s never wanted anything or anyone more, and he’ll go to the
ends of the universe to keep Cami safe. With danger lurking at every turn, he
may just be forced to prove it—even if that means protecting the angel from
himself.
Betrayal
left them broken. Can love see them mended?
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Have a great weekend, and happy reading!
