Let's Talk Heroes

So I’ve been wracking my brain for a blog topic and finally decided to talk a little about heroes. It’s a sacrifice, I know, but I love you – my readers – so I’ll suffer through it. LOL Seriously, who doesn’t love to talk about heroes?

For years I was addicted to reading cop heroes. FBI, P.I. or detective, I didn’t care. I couldn’t get enough of them! To this day, they’re still one of my favorite to read about, so it stands to reason that my first book, NOT WITHOUT RISK, featured one. Sergeant Justin Harrison – San Diego homicide detective – is all cop. It’s all he knows, everything he is. His job defines him. Or so he believes, until the day a long-legged brunette stumbles into his crime scene and tips his world off its axis.

I never base my character’s physical attributes on real people. When my characters first begin talking to me, I come up with the details – hair color, eye color, height, and skin tone – and an image of my hero and heroine takes shape in my head. I have problems with my characters looking “just like INSERT MOVIE STAR NAME HERE” because they aren’t that movie star. However, in the case of Justin Harrison, one man kept popping into my head whenever I sat back and pictured him – the smile, the dimple, hair and eye color – and pretty quickly he became the exact representation of Sergeant Justin Harrison.

Who is the real person that Justin looks like? Country crooner Ty Herndon.

My latest release, AFTER MIDNIGHT, is the first book in my Midnight Series. Noah Clark is the handsome, sensual lead singer of the rock band Black Phoenix. Noah has known fame and lived the wild life. He’s learned some hard-won lessons and is ready to focus on his music instead of everything else that comes with it. Then he walks into Isabeau’s bar and Whammo!

Mature and focused, Noah doesn’t come with much baggage. Which is perfect, really, as Isabeau has more than enough for both of them. What Noah does have is sex appeal. Tall and lean, with hair that’s a mix of medium and dark blond, and vibrant green eyes, that’s Noah. A quiet, confident man with a British accent. Oh, didn’t I tell you he was British? *grin*

Noah is one of those characters who resembles no one but himself, so when I went out to find a visual representation of him I came up blank. Until I stumbled upon this photo:

Which led to this one:

Yeah, that second one is my favorite. It’s about as close to how I picture Noah Clark as I can get. Is he hot or what? I could stare at that photo all day.

I never set out to make AFTER MIDNIGHT a series. When the story first came to me, it was just the story of a man and woman and their journey to happily-ever-after. Then Dominic Price walked onto the page…

My work in progress is book two in my Midnight Series, MIDNIGHT HEAT. Noah’s best friend and Black Phoenix bassist, Dominic Price is the type of man women walk into walls trying to get a better look at. Literally. At six-two with black hair that hangs in waves to just past his shoulders, and eyes so blue most people believe them to be contacts, Dominic is the epitome of a rock god. His British accent and killer smile don’t hurt, either.

I can’t find a picture that truly captures Dominic, but you get the idea. Dom knows exactly how sexy he is and has been known to use it to his advantage. He’s a touch arrogant, has an amazing sense of humor, and a love for music that is only rivaled by his love of one woman. The woman he walked away from three years ago.

What I love most about Midnight Heat is…well, the hero. Dominic is probably the most alpha of all of my alpha heroes. He’s blunt, in-your-face, and curses too much. He’s also flawed, damaged by his childhood, and more sensitive than he would ever let on. It takes a very special woman to unravel Dom, and Rebecca Dahlman is just the one to do it. That is, if Dom can convince her this time around he’s in it for more than just the heat.

So that’s them, my heroes. Well, the ones whose stories I’ve already fleshed out. There are two more who make appearances in the Midnight Series Books 1 and 2 who are impatiently waiting for their own book.