GUEST: How Do You Like Your Heroes by Eden Winters

All heads turn when he enters the room. He’s the tallest, most muscular and handsomest man you’ve met (washboard abs!), and he calls to you like a flame to a moth—you and everyone else he meets. You’re captivated, you hang on to his every word. He’s…perfect.

He’s loyal to his friends and family, shrewd enough to outfox the bad guys, and brave enough to plow through any obstacle. Though he’s a rake and a scoundrel on the outside, inside he’s got a heart of gold, and is merely waiting for the right one who can make him complete enough to change his roguish way: you. He’s revered…

***Insert needle on vinyl screech here***

Okay. Let’s knock it off. That’s the hero from the bodice rippers I snuck from my aunt when I was way too young to read bodice rippers. Now that I’m grown up, I want a real man, be he the nerdy computer geek who saves me from my computer woes (and makes a mean lasagna!), the reformed drug trafficker with the asshole attitude turned good guy, or the heavily tattooed, bad boy rocker who really, really needs a drink right now.

Give me flaws! I’m not perfect, why would I want my heroes to be? Please don’t make them too good. Don’t make them too jaded either. I want to read about protagonists who dance on the line, as real folks do in their lives.

But you know what? That diamond in the rough still defends those who deserve his loyalty. His head’s screwed up on occasion, but his heart’s in the right place.

The latest character to crawl from my brain and into a manuscript is no exception. He’s tattooed, sings in the type of band that makes parents cringe, and is highly familiar with rehab. Oh, and let’s talk about the dysfunctional family and the stalker fan, shall we?

What he needs now is the perfect foil, the other half of himself for balance. Mr. Clean Living to counterpoint his “gimme a joint, now!” persona. Someone to, not change him, but make him want to be a better man.

I give you Henri Lafontaine, rocker boy on the skids. Opera tenor Sebastian Unger just might prove to be the one man who can catch Henri when he falls, dust him off, and set him on the right path again.

Ah, but you know I make my boys work for their HEA, right? Nothing worthwhile is easy. It’s just A Matter of When.

Thank you JP Barnaby for hosting me on your site today.