My Kind of Hero @karilemor #RomanceGems

So many people talk about book boyfriends and I have to admit I don’t really have any. Not that I don’t like the heroes I read about. I do! But typically, I read romance. In these stories I am looking for a connection between the two main characters.  If I end up with the hero, that means the other character does not. Then it wouldn’t be a romance. Or it would be my romance, and since I’m already married, that would be a problem. I’m not into cheating.  In my life or in my books.

When I do choose my heroes, I have to say I like certain things. And some things I’m not a huge fan of. Jerky alpha billionaire, Pass. Any guy who’s ever cheated on a woman, Pass. Royalty, sheik, hit man. Pass. I’m more into those who serve, like military, police, firefighter, or government agent.  Or I like the manly type who work with their hands. Cowboy, carpenter, or farmer.

One of my good friends checked out my ‘Hero’ Pinterest board and said I definitely have a type. Yup, I do. Physically, I like them trim, clean cut, lean muscles, and swoon worthy. I do appreciate a bit of chest hair as well. But that’s all superficial.

What I really want in a hero is vulnerability. Sure, I want them to be macho and strong, physically and emotionally. But I also want them to be real. To have problems they need to work on. I want them to love their woman with every fiber of their being and fight until the death for them. Since many of my books are romantic suspense, they do exactly that. Well, not quite to the death, but often times close.

It’s great that most books now have the hero’s point of view as well. I love the inner thoughts and the struggles they go through in the story. One favorite is Nikko from Peggy Jaeger’s Cant Stand the Heat. He’s a definite alpha male who takes no guff from anyone. But he’s got this teenage daughter who is going through quite an ordeal. Instead of being the absent father, or the one who rules with an iron fist, he is caring and loving and his daughter is more important to him than anything else in his life. And he constantly tells her so. This man, this father, dug so deeply into my heart, I thought I might bleed.

Another great hero with a vulnerability is Ty from Marianne Rice’s What Makes Us Stronger. Ty is a man who works with his hands and very masculine. But he suffers from depression and struggles to get through life with this around his neck. This is a real issue that so many people suffer from.  I love watching him as he finds a way to make things work with the heroine. Swoonworthy.

I’ve got my own vulnerable hero coming out soon. The book, Elusive Dreams, is the first in my new series, Storms of New England. The series is a small-town family contemporary set in…you guessed it… New England.

Erik Storm is the oldest in his family, with three younger Storm siblings. He has always been popular, handsome, well-liked, and successful. But his time as a Marine over seas left him scarred, barely able to walk, and hiding other medical secrets he never wants his family or friends to find out about. But he promised a dying mother he’d take care of her children. How to do that in the physical shape he’s in?

Tessa Porter has bounced around through a variety of foster homes her whole life. In her teens, she finally came to live next door to Erik’s grandparents in coastal Maine, where Erik spent many summers working at a local restaurant. Due to abuse in her past, Tessa hates to be around people and cringes at any form of touch. But she’s willing to help Erik take care of the children. They are younger and weaker and therefore can’t possibly hurt her.

Unfortunately, a social service worker doesn’t think Erik is in any shape to care for these children, so Erik and Tessa embark on a marriage of convenience to ensure the children will have a stable home and loving family. Both Erik and Tessa face challenges, so creating a family might be the only thing to heal these two scarred souls.

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As soon as I have a cover and release date, I will share. To get up to date news, you can subscribe to my mailing list (I only send out a newsletter when I have a sale or new release or other exciting news). Or you can follow me on BookBub.

Now tell me, what is your favorite kind of hero?


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