Is you or is you ain‘t a Hero………..

Hi all,

So, there’s been a lot of discussion among various authors whose blogs I read about what constitutes a hero. Or for those of us, like me, who write unconventionally, an anti-hero.

And really, after some thought I came up with two things that sort of draw the line between hero and not. First, I think that the hero/anti-hero should never rape his lover. Well, unless, he’s not in his ‘right’ mind. And then, yeah, that’s an entirely different set of circumstances. But I do believe ‘no rape of loved ones’.

The second ‘rule’ that I tend to follow when writing my heroes/anti-heroes is also not to have them be physically abusive (not talking S/M, B/D stuff here) to their lover. Maybe it’s me but when a hero strikes the person that he/she loves, I personally feel that they have crossed some ‘magical’ line and cannot be considered heroes anymore.

So, I guess these are the two simple guidelines that I go by write heroes. Reading fiction, if the hero violates the two above ‘rules’, yeah, I usually am turned off by the book and don’t purchase the next in the series.

Now, as I’ve said, anti-heroes have much more leeway when it comes to rape/abuse, etc. But while they may rape, pillage and burn houses to the ground, label me a softie but I still want the characters to go home at night and kiss their wives/kids. And go “Hey, honey, what a really bad day I’ve had.” Well, not quite, but I think you get the picture.

I’ve read many a piece where the main character has violated one or both of the above rules. And well, while the character may be well-written, unfortunately, I can’t see them as a hero. Good character, check. Strong character, check. But hero? Um nope. Don’t believe that.

I hope then my short entry here will have you consider just what you think a hero is when you go off and write your next piece. Or you can just go listen to the Bonnie Tyler song. Awesome song. And true. Very true.

Take care all,
Chris

A Pleasant Surprise ………….

Hi all,

Before I write more in my blog, let me preface all this by saying I love my fans and enjoy interacting with all of you. It has been fun talking with others who like my universe and find it as fun to immerse themselves in reading it as I have been doing writing the stuff. It’s been great and I hope to hear more from all of you:)

Now, though, I’d like to mention one segment of my fans whom I thought I wouldn’t get many of. The guys. Because you see, I’m a romance writer. With more than a smattering of erotica thrown in there for good measure. Though my characters are vampires, my universe, while having horror elements is mainly romance. And mostly, starting out, I thought that the great majority, if not all, of my fans (if I ever even had any, that is) would be women. Because most women tend to read romantic/erotic fiction, including romantic horror fiction. But then, I started getting emails/comments on my blog from my male fans. And the guys’ notes were very similar to my female fans’ comments. Much like the women who liked my work, the men also found something relatable in the characters that I was writing about. And all in all, they enjoyed reading about my characters, including the more romantic aspects of them. Because I do write about male characters being husbands, fathers, friends. And these are experiences that both male and females can relate to. So, I suppose that’s what attracts men to reading my work.

In any case, it is an unexpected pleasure to have male fans. And I just wanted to take some time to give a shout out to all the guys who read my work and are reading this blog tonight. Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoy my work. I hope, as I continue to write, you will all continue to find my characters/plots enjoyable and fun for you. I appreciate you reading me and I do thank you for your support!

Would my male fans want to see more violence, an emphasis on the horror aspect rather than the romance side? Some have expressed a desire for me to write more of that though most are happy with reading what I am writing now. Will I put more emphasis on that area rather than on the romance side of things? Probably not since I enjoy both writing and reading romantic/erotic literature. So yeah, I’m probably not one to write in the pure horror genre. I’ll leave that to great writers like Stephen King. But, there are times when I’m thinking about an idea and I’m ‘sitting on the fence’ as it were as to whether to include more of the gorier aspects of vampirism. And now, knowing more of the demographics of my fans, I might be swayed to write more of this. Because now I realize that romance fans are not just women. They’re men too. And everyone likes a good romantic story every now and then. With some sexy stuff on the side:)

Take care all,
Chris