Top Ten Heroes (aka “The List”)

Today is a big day for me. It’s release day for Blood Trails, book 2 in The Blood Series and my second book ever to be published. To say that I’m giddy doesn’t even begin to say it. LOL There is one thing very different in Blood Trails – the hero. Tristan Hunt was beyond intense. But where he was the avalanche, Jeremy Calen is the underground stream that quietly makes its way across the landscape without anyone knowing it until he’s good and ready to show his hand – and then you better watch out. Of course, it doesn’t quite work out that way with his Hailey, but that’s to be expected.

This got me thinking, and a discussion with a friend got me jotting things down on paper. She was talking about “the list” and all the men who made that “list.” I took it as a challenge to write down some names. And thus was born my list of top ten heroes, which I thought I’d share. They’re all very different, but there are similarities in all. I am not numbering them, because there is no way I could possibly put one above the rest, so I’ll just use bullet points. That should be fair.

• Garreth MacRieve (Pleasure of a Dark Prince, Kresley Cole). I could hardly put together a list of heroes without a werewolf on it, now could I? The reluctant King, the Prince with a past, the monster who would rather die than harm his mate. Garreth will always hold a special place in my heart for one simple reason: He’s my hero. =)
• Arram Draper (The Immortals Series, Tamora Pierce). Also known as Numair Salmalin. Arram is the kind of quirky character that just burrows himself into your mind and stays there. He’s powerful, and takes his responsibilities very seriously, but he’s also funny, and clever, an all around good guy you can just see falling for the heroine before either of them seem to realize it.
• Derek Craven (Dreaming of You, Lisa Kleypas). The type of wrong guy all the good girls always fall for. Derek is damaged. He was born without a name, and clawed his way to a fortune. Still he knows he is not good enough for the woman he loves. That is what puts him on my list – his humility and depth of love. Men say they will move the earth for their women. Derek actually would.
• Wraith (Passion Unleashed, Larissa Ione). Another bad boy, but very different from Derek. This one cares for nothing. Until he cares for you. He is irreverent, reckless, a showoff, and a vampire (which is a major point against him). But he is also hilarious, and even though he drives you crazy, you can’t help but love him. He’s also a paramedic demon.
• Gwenvael the Defiler (What a Dragon Should Know, G.A. Aiken). Gwenvael the wickedly genius master manipulator. You only have to see him weep once and you’ll know he is a force to be reckoned with. He goes through life seeming to take nothing seriously. But any who underestimate him end up regretting it. His smarts and humor make him adorably irresistible.
• Matthew Swift (Scandal in Spring,  Lisa Kleypas). Mr. Dependable. When in need, you can always count on Matthew Swift to save the day. There’s nothing even remotely scandalous about him, he is probably the most boring man at the balls this Season. Except that Swift isn’t his real name. And there is nothing boring about him…
• Terrible (Ghosts of Downside, Stacia Kane). Terrible is the kind of guy you’d cross the street to avoid. tall, muscled, scarred and tattooed, and working for a drug lord. He hurts people. He also loves with his whole heart, unconditionally. Just look at the woman he fell in love with – a drug addict whose addiction leads to lies, which lead to even more problems. *sigh* Terrible is wasted on her…
• Jon Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin). Before it was a TV Series, it was a book called The Game of Thrones. I read it and fell in love with half the characters. By the end of the book half of them were dead, and I was too scared for the rest to continue the series. So Jon lives on in my head, having found a pretty girl from across the Wall to fall in love with (do not tell me otherwise!)
• Kasteo (The Fever Series, Karen Marie Moning). Kasteo’s not a hero. You won’t see much of him in this series. He is the quiet one who never talks, but you get hints of his story. It is possible that his brothers in arms had murdered his mate years ago. Doesn’t that make you wonder why he still fights with them? Makes me want to hug him and say,”There, there.” His appeal: Intensity.
• The Beast (Beauty and the Beast, Unknown). Of all the fairy tales, this is the only one where the girl is the hero, not the guy. Belle rescues her prince and they live happily ever after. What makes him special is that he is worthy of being rescued. Has to be for a smart girl like Belle to bother with him. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Not true. Beauty is there for those willing to find it, nurture it to the surface. Plus, have you seen his library??