Hi Everyone! As you see we have Shona Husk visiting with us today! As you see we’re back to our “scheduled not scheduled” posts – as we’ve seen before. As you here Shona is talking about heroes today, so I’m curious as to what you all think. (Shona also writes the Shadowland series with Sourcebooks Casablanca.) Anyway I hope you’ll all join in and chat! Which type of hero do you prefer?
The misfit hero
We all know the wounded hero, the tortured hero, and the alpha at the top of his game, but what about the man who doesn’t quite fit in. The one who is successful, smart but who isn’t accepted into society?
While I often write tortured and wounded heroes I’ve also found myself coming back to the misfit. For whatever reason he doesn’t blend in and he uncomfortable in his own skin despite the face he puts on.
Sometimes it’s because what they are that prevents them from belonging. Absinthe (Enchanting Absinthe) is a Vampire-Shaman half-breed and shunned by all except his fellow band members. He has adoring fans but never lets anyone close. They love what they see, not who he really is.
Other times it’s because of what they know. Dai (Kiss of the Goblin Prince) has spent centuries studying magic, magic that no longer exists in our world. So while he looks like a modern man he will never truly belong because he knows too much and the magic is part of who he is after so long.
While the wounded hero needs healing, and the tortured hero needs to forgive himself the misfit hero is seeking acceptance and to be loved for who he is. I think that is something that is very easy to relate to as a reader. Deep down that is what we all want: that one person to know us and love us for who we are, not who we could be or who we should be.
Claire Winters is two days away from taking her place in the Shamanic Council’s Genetic Protection Program. To keep the fragile bloodline strong, every Shaman female must have one pure Shaman child. Tonight she wants one last fling and she has the lead violinist of Lucinda’s Lover in her sights–even though lustful liaisons with Vampires are strictly forbidden.
Absinthe has shunned long term relationships for so long he’s not sure he knows how to do anything but one-night stands. A forbidden hybrid of Shaman and Vampire, he has the ability to draw up power during shows and enchant people–usually women–out of their panties. But when he chooses Claire and a quickie backstage turns into a passionate night he can’t forget, he isn’t sure who was enchanting who.
Bio: A civil designer by day and an author by night, Shona Husk lives in Western Australia at the edge of the Indian Ocean. Blessed with a lively imagination she spent most of her childhood making up stories. As an adult she discovered romance novels and hasn’t looked back. Drawing on history and myth, she writes about heroes who are armed and dangerous but have a heart of gold—sometimes literally
With stories ranging from sensual to scorching, she is published with Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing, Carina Press and Sourcebooks. You can find out more at her website, on twitter, facebook, or her newsletter.
I love the hero who does not fit in. Partly because nobody’s perfect and partly because in a lot of time I share his position . Never fit in , I understand perfectly
The Misfit…ya know that really will strike a cord with a lot of people. Most people feel in some way they don’t fit in with others for whatever reason.
I don’t really prefer any specific type of hero, I enjoy them all. There is something that attracts me to the misfit hero though, it is very easy to relate to that type of situation.