SIS is proud and thrilled to present guest blogger, Sensual Romance Author (and super-cool, super-close friend of Beth's) ..... Julia Templeton!
I'm one of those authors who has a relatively easy time letting go of my characters. I finish their story and move on to the next book...and honestly, by the time I write "THE END", I'm ready to move on. But for some reason I had a tough time saying goodbye to Victor Rayborne, the middle brother of the infamous rakes of Rochester.
For those of you who are not familiar with the The Rakehells of Rochester series––the Rayborne brothers have a horrible reputation as scoundrels for sleeping their way through London and Rochester. When the brothers are given an ultimatum from their parents to marry or lose everything, they begin their search for brides. Easier said than done when they have a well-meaning mother who is constantly throwing the wrong woman in their path.
From the moment I started writing the first book in the series, Victor stood out for me. I loved his sarcasm, his wit, and the fact that he absolutely owned who he was. He made no apologies, offered no explanations, and never took himself too seriously. I think that's what I loved most of all. He was different than any other hero I had written, and that was also part of his appeal. I wrote his story over a year ago...but I think he'll always hold a special place in my heart.
For those of you who are not familiar with the The Rakehells of Rochester series––the Rayborne brothers have a horrible reputation as scoundrels for sleeping their way through London and Rochester. When the brothers are given an ultimatum from their parents to marry or lose everything, they begin their search for brides. Easier said than done when they have a well-meaning mother who is constantly throwing the wrong woman in their path.From the moment I started writing the first book in the series, Victor stood out for me. I loved his sarcasm, his wit, and the fact that he absolutely owned who he was. He made no apologies, offered no explanations, and never took himself too seriously. I think that's what I loved most of all. He was different than any other hero I had written, and that was also part of his appeal. I wrote his story over a year ago...but I think he'll always hold a special place in my heart.
So my question to you is this––is there a hero who has stuck with you long after finishing a book?
I have a ton of books on my keeper shelf, but I'll start with one of my favorites--Karen Marie Moning's Barrons from her Fever series. OMG, that woman writes magic!
For those of you who answer, your name will be going into a drawing to win signed copies of SINJIN & VICTOR, books one and two of The Rakehells of Rochester series.
Posts
31 comments:
Julia,
Welcome to SIS. We are so happy to have you. Your Victor sounds like someone I would adore. No wonder you're having a hard time letting him go. And Barrons...What can I say about Barrons? Words cannot describe how I feel about him.
My current WIP has the best hero. I love everything about him and just know that I'll have a really hard time after I write "THE END". But I'll always remember Ghanem as the first hero that really stuck with me.
From The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward, the hero Zsadist still sticks with me. He was a tortured soul that managed to endure so much and still capture my heart. He is one of my all time favorites.
SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi
Julia, I love a hero who sticks in your mind. I think my current hero is like that.
Michelle Diener, my CP, has her historical, ILLUMINATIONS, coming out in 2011. I guarantee that her hero will stick in many readers' minds. He does for me.
Thanks for being here, Julie! I love the way you describe, Victor. No wonder he's staying with you. Looking forward to the read!
I have a soft spot for all of my heroes. I think the man that stays with me most is Arch Duvall from my Evie series. He's the only hero I never penned from his POV, so he remains a but of a mystery to me.
THE FEVER SERIES!!! Jericho Barrons. Gah!! Is he the hottest guy ever? I know I have other fave heroes, but Barrons is crowding my mind just now. ;)
SIS Beth
Hey Barb,
Thanks for having me!
Ah Barrons... What a guy.
I've heard so much about J.R. Ward's characters. There's something about a tortured hero that I find irresistible. And the darker, the better!
BTW, love the name Ghanem. Very orginal...and sexy.
Hey Edie,
You've piqued my interest. I'll have to pick up ILLUMINATIONS when it comes out!
Hey Beth,
I loved Arch, too. I'm sure you're right about the POV bit. Maybe that's why we love Barrons so much. We only see him through Mac's eyes ;). Whatever the case, I can't wait for December to get here. I'm anxious to see how the series ends!
Julia,
Welcome and thank you for gracing our humble Blog with your presence. I guess it's up to me to be the odd one out, so here goes.
I wouldn't think of either of them as heroes, but the characters of Frankenstein's monster and Dracula from the original books both struck a chord with me. They were both tragic in their own way and were in a situation that neither asked for, and were misunderstood, shunned, feared and hated because of it. That kind of character always has me pulling for them.
If I had to choose a 'hero', I'd probably go with Drizzt Do'Urden from the 'Forgotten Realms' series or Raistlin Majere from the Dragonlance series. They're both sci-fi and not romance, I know, but I have to go with what I've read :)
I think I know why you're having a hard time letting Victor go. Could it be that he reminds you of someone (or several someones) that you admire greatly or maybe he's as close as you've come to the ideal of your perfect guy?
Victor sounds yummy, Julia! :)
I have a tendency to write with series in mind, so I don't have to give up my characters quite so soon. But for a standalone, I adore my Romanian shapeshifter Stefan. He could sweep me off my feet any time. *g*
Hi Julia,
The Rayborne brothers sound incredibly delicious! I love stories about rakish playboys. The naughtier, the better.
As for your question, ooh yeah, I've read several stories with melt-in-your-shoes heroes. And, yes, Beth's Arch is definitely one of them. Gina Showalter also has a few delicious men. And so does Diana Palmer. One hero that particularly stands out to me is Ewan Fraser from Hope Tarr’s BOUND TO PLEASE. Right now I’m reading Candace Camp’s SUDDENLY, and the hero, Simon 'Devil' Dure, seems pretty promising.
Just as Elle's WIP hero Ghanem is her favorite(and for a good reason - he's sizzling hot), Gustav is my fav WIP hero. Outwardly, he comes across as untouchable. But inside he has a heroic heart of gold.
Hey Chris,
I understand why you were drawn to the characters you mentioned. I felt that way about Lestat from The Vampire Chronicles.
I gotta say, I love the Sci-Fi character names you mentioned. And here I thought romance authors were creative!
As to Victor--yes, I do admire him. He has many of the qualities I like in a man...all rolled into one loving, sensitive guy, who still has a touch of the bad boy in him. :)
Hey Tori,
Ah, thank you!
I've come to appreciate the benefits of writing a series and holding onto characters for a while. It does make it harder to say goodbye though.
A Romanian shapeshifter named Stefan. I'm already smitten. ;)
Hi Alyson,
We're obviously kindred spirits when it comes to those bad boys. I'm with you--the naughtier, the better.
I believe I have Hope Tarr's Bound to Please on my TBR pile. I'll have to pull it out. Thanks for the heads-up on other great heroes. I'll check them out!
Gustav sounds like the perfect hero ;).
Hi Julia,
Welcome to SIS. Your hero sounds great.
I would have to say that the hero who sticks with me most is Richard Cypher from The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. He starts out young and foolish and grows into a great man whoi fights for the good of all. His partner and mate Kahlan Amnell is just as wonderful as he is.
I feel like a copy cat!! I too absolutley love Barrons. I am still one book away from finishing the series, so I don't even know what he is yet!! AHHHH its killing me!!!
And Arch is a bigtime fav of mine. I love a man with a little "bad boy" in him.
I have had the pleasure of reading a small amount of Barb's book that has Ghanem as the hero. I like what I see of him so far...I just need more! I love the name too Barb knows why.
There are so many fabulously sexy heroes out there. I think every book I read has a man that piques my interest ;)
I'll throw in some more... The Flynn brothers, The Black Dagger brotherhood, Jack from Out of Eden, The Breed warriors from the Midnight Breed series oooh all so yummy!!
Hi BJ,
Thanks! I'm having a great time. :)
Honestly, and I know I'm going to catch grief for this--I didn't know who Terry Goodkind was before you mentioned him. His website is...impressive, if not a little intimidating, and I'm already intrigued by Richard's story. I'm adding this one to my must buy list!
Hi Brandy!
Ah, so true.
>>>>>There are so many fabulously sexy heroes out there. I think every book I read has a man that piques my interest ;)>>>>
Isn't it amazing that KMM has kept Barrons identity a secret all this time? No wonder she has such a faithful following. She keeps us all on our toes!
Hi Brandy,
I responded to your comment, but it must have gotten lost in the black hole!
Yes, I completely agree with you about there being so many fabulously sexy heroes.
I have to give KMM kudos for creating a character like Barrons...and then making us wait five or six books to find out what he is. Now that's impressive ;).
Wow! So many great comments! And so many about Barrons. Heh. If Mac doesn't end up with him I'll be so totally bummed!
Julie, after your comment about Terry Goodkind's website, I had to check it out. Yup. Intimidating. But very cool. As far as book promo vids go, belive it or not I thought that one was one of the most effective I've seen. So simple but powerful. Read a couple of book blurbs. Sounds like great stuff!
Here's a question for you, Julie. What actor would you cast in Victor's shoes? :)
SIS Beth
Julie
You won't be getting any grief from me. I will warn you that the books can be a little dark and disturbing with plenty of lighter moments scattered throughout.
Jake in my book, Addiction, is the one I keep going back to. lol He's black Irish with blue eyes. He's hot, and he's in control. Grin.
Hey Beth,
>>>>>Here's a question for you, Julie. What actor would you cast in Victor's shoes? :)>>>
Hmmm, that's a tough call. When my editor asked me what Victor looked like, I told him Chris Cornell (the musician)...but Victor is much taller :). Actor Alex McCloughlin would be a good match. For those not familiar with him, Alex played the vampire in the TV series Moonlight, and he's the love interest in the new movie with Jennifer Lopez. A cutie!
Sandy,
Jake sounds SEXY. Black Irish with blue eyes.
Julia,
Alex O'Laughlin from 'Moonlight' is an excellent choice. Would you want him to keep his accent or not?
Hi Juia,
Sorry I'm so late to the party. Loved your post and the comments that followed.
Off the top of my head I would have to say that Ranger from the Stefanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich lights my fire. A close second would be Joe Morelli from the same series.
Ranger is a sort of bad guy in a good guy sort of way and Joe Morelli just sounds yummy and comfortable. I can understand why Stefanie is always tossing back and forth between the two of them.
Your heroes sound enticing and I can't wait to read your books! Thanks so much for joining us here at SIS!
Waving from the Florida Keys . . . Hi, Julie!!!
Oops! The comment from the SIS who loves Ranger and Joe Morrelli are from me! Thanks again Julie!
SIS Bren
I don't know why blogger keeps eating my comments...this is the third time already!
Anywho, I forgot to sign my comment...the SIS who loves Ranger and Joe Morrelli is me!
Thanks again Julie!
SIS Bren
Sure...Now it shows up just to mock me!
SIS Bren
Hey Mary,
Looking forward to seeing you at RT!
Chiming in the next morning after reading more comments to say--god pick, Bren!! Morelli and Ranger!! HOW could we forget them? Although I'm the opposite of you Morelli then Ranger. Although.... I'm a bit behind in the series so maybe I'll feel differently later on. :)
SIS Beth
Well, a few of my comments from last night managed to get sucked into the black hole again...
BJ, a little dark and disturbing is okay with me!
Bren, I love your description of Ranger (sort of bad guy in a good guy sort of way). Classic!
Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments. I had a great time hanging out with you yesterday!
I'll pass along the drawing winners to Beth!
Hugs,
Julia :)
Post a Comment