Guest blog today: Sara Reinke

Good Morning! Today is a good day not only is it sunday but it's the beginning of the Summer holidays! With a five year old in the house, you can imagine what chaos is about to ensue.

Anyway, today I have a guest. I'm pleased to welcome Sara Reinke, talking about creating the perfect he[image error]ro…

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I love to create the perfect hero. My inspiration comes from all sorts of places. In some instances, my hero comes from an actor I've seen, someone whose face or personality — or both — I find attractive or appealing. For example, I have a long-standing and admittedly pathetic school girl crush on Orlando Bloom, and in my stories, I've created several characters in the past who, to me, bear a physical resemblance to him. In my upcoming new release, the paranormal romance, Forsaken, Book One in The Netherworlde Series, the hero, Jason Sullivan, "looks" like Orlando to me. I feel like he has a certain kind of stoic strength, but an emotional vulnerability, he expresses well in his face and eyes, the same key attributes I envisioned for Jason.

 

Mos[image error]t of the time, I don't write alpha heroes. I know some readers really love them, but for me, I like characters — and heroes in particular — who go through an intense character arc, and whose vulnerabilities (and their eventual ability to overcome them) that makes them more believable and sexy. I prefer men who have emotional baggage they have to learn to deal with during the course of my story; heroes who aren't always kick ass and strong, but who learn how to be, how to conquer their respective personal demons (both internal and external). Real strength comes from facing your fears and weaknesses and finding ways to persevere and thrive in spite of them.

In Forsaken, Jason Sullivan has everything he could have wanted in life — his own business, the perfect girlfriend and the perfect opportunity to ask her to marry him. Then, in one violent, unexpected moment, he loses it all. Murdered in cold blood, wrongly condemned and enslaved to a sadistic demon, Jason must fight to reclaim not only the life and love he'd once known, but also his soul.

You'll find more information about Forsaken — including excerpts, the promotional video and links to a mini-site for The Netherworlde Series — on my website: www.sarareinke.com.

As a special prize for blog readers today, I'm giving you the chance to win an electronic copy of Forsaken before you can buy it! It hits the eBook market next week, but if you leave a comment today, you'll be entered for your chance to win a complimentary advance copy. Just tell me what you like in your romance novel heroes, especially paranormal romance. What makes him sexy, believably, irresistable to YOU?