Guest Blogging with Susannah Sandlin

Today I have with us, Susannah Sandlin...who is talking about heros and heroines. 

Breaking Down the Stubborn Hero and Heroine
Susannah Sandlin
I had a struggle on my hands when I began writing Omega, the newest book in my Penton Legacy series (out February 5). I usually have a good grasp of my hero and struggle with my heroine, or vice-versa. Every once in a serendipitous while, I’m in sync with both hero and heroine from the start. (The second series book, Absolution, was like that—thank you, Mirren and Glory!)
Then there was Omega. I did character charts. I plotted scenes. I made several false starts on the book before I finally set the laptop aside and put myself in time-out. Literally. I made myself sit in a chair in a quiet room and do something you’d think authors do a lot, but which in fact we rarely take time to do:  stop and think. Just think.
I finally figured out the problem with Will and Randa, my couple in Omega. They were both alike. That in itself is a challenge. Not only were they alike, however, but they handled stress in the same way—by erecting a wall.
Randa hides behind a tough-as-nails attitude. The only girl in a family of military guys, she feels she has to prove herself just a good a soldier as her brothers and her father the colonel. Nothing gets beneath that steel armor. When she was turned vampire, she lost her human family but inherited a new family in Penton—and has to prove herself all over again with another bunch of domineering guys (only these guys have fangs instead of uniforms).
Will has had a truly horrific upbringing, emotionally abused by his wealthy father in New York as a child, then turned vampire by that same father when he was 22, when the mental abuse turned physical. Outside, he is handsome and brilliant, with a quick wit and outgoing personality (and, yeah, a bit of a jerk). Inside, he feels like the inadequate screwup his father always told him he was. Like Randa, he hides himself behind a mask. He plays a role. He doesn’t want to be exposed.
So when two Teflon-coated characters come together, something extreme has to happen to get them to open up and, slowly—ever so slowly—begin to reveal bits of their hidden selves. In the case of Omega, it took a projectile grenade, a cave-in, and the lure of Army underwear. I can’t say more, or Will would sink his fangs in me.
So in the end, I got Omega written, and fell in love with this hard-to-understand couple that used up more than their fair share of my brain cells.
What kind of romantic couples do you prefer? The opposites-attract type (like Mirren and Glory), or the work-through-some-issues types (like Will and Randa)—or is it all about the chemistry? Enter the Rafflecopter for the tour prizes, and leave a comment to be entered for a choice of Penton Legacy print book, Kindle book, or audiobook (CD or mp3).
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Omega Penton Vampire Legacy, Book 3Susannah Sandlin
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Date of Publication: February 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-1612183596ASIN: B0073XV3L2
Number of pages: 328Word Count: approx. 88,000
Amazon        Barnes & Noble        Book Depository
Book Description:
The bloody war between the Vampire Tribunal and the defiant scathe of Penton, Alabama, rages on, forcing its residents and their bonded humans to retreat into the underground fortress of last resort: Omega. There, Will Ludlam is charged with the care of Penton's humans, though he longs to fight alongside his vampire brethren. He knows the risks: as the renegade son of the Tribunal's vicious leader, Will's capture could doom the resistance.
Yet he is determined to prove his worth to his adopted scathe, to his vengeful father and to former US Army officer Randa Thomas, his beautiful, reluctant partner. Randa has little faith that a former member of the vampire elite has what it takes to fight a war. But as their enemies descend upon Omega, Will's polished charm and Randa's guarded heart finally give way to the warrior within.
Fans of Susannah Sandlin's Penton Legacy are sure to devour this long-awaited third installment of the steamy paranormal series.        

Susannah Sandlin is the author of paranormal romance set in the Deep South, where there are always things that go bump in the night. A journalist by day, Susannah grew up in Alabama reading the gothic novels of Susan Howatch and the horror fantasy of Stephen King. (Um…it is fantasy, right?) The combination of Howatch and King probably explains a lot. Currently a resident of Auburn, Alabama, Susannah has also lived in Illinois, Texas, California, and Louisiana.
Website: http://www.susannahsandlin.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/susannahsandlin
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/susannahsandlin
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5828129.Susannah_Sandlin
Indie Bound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781612183541