I love writing tortured heroes. That sounds a bit sadistic, but
what I really mean is I love writing about people who have fears and worries
and issues, and how they are able to confront those things through loving
someone, and find both forgiveness and redemption.
Jacob, the hero of my latest release, The Lone Wolfe, is
definitely one of the more tortured men I’ve written about. He’s part of a
continuity, The Notorious Wolfes, and his character was given to me by the editorial
team.
When I first read the continuity ‘bible’ about the Wolfes and saw
how much Jacob had to deal with, I was slack-jawed to say the least. This was a
man with some serious issues. An abusive father, a series of inappropriate
stepmothers, seven younger siblings to care for, and to top it all off he hit
his father when he was just eighteen and accidentally killed him. How do you
put all that into on book--one character--and still find a happily-ever-after?
It wasn’t easy, and The Lone Wolfe has plenty of angst! But the
process of writing it made me wonder how many issues can a hero have before he
becomes TOO tortured, and pulls you out of the fantasy.
What do you think? Do
you enjoy tortured heroes or do you prefer your men to have worked out all of
their issues? And is there such a thing as too tortured? Leave a comment and
let me know! One winner will be picked to receive a free copy of my last
release, The Secret Baby Scandal, a duet with the wonderful Jennie Lucas!
Kate
http://www.kate-hewitt.com
***CathyP is the winner of The Secret Baby Scandal! Cathy please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your full name and mailing address. Congratulations!!***
***CathyP is the winner of The Secret Baby Scandal! Cathy please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your full name and mailing address. Congratulations!!***
12 comments:
Hi Kate. Tortured is fine; I also think you did a great job with the book, I really liked this series (Bad Blood in my neighborhood) :)
Wow, that's a lot of back-story! I like a bit of tortured hero myself, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's good to find someone who's happy in his own skin.
pageturner345@gmail.com
Hi Kate, I don't mind the Hero being tortured or having problems in fact I like it. Especially if the Hero is a real jerk in the beginning of the book and then we find he's being such a jerk because he has problems.
miztik_rose@yahoo.com
Kate -
I really feel bad that I obviously have to be the one to let you know that there are no men who have worked out all of their issues.
Trust me on this Kate. I not only had a father but also a slew of uncles who were the first ones to teach me this lesson. Next came all the boy cousins - yes all the cousins were boys as well.
Next I got married and yup! All sons - no girls in sight in my household. At least I did my part by teaching my sons how to cook and also to wash and iron their own clothes which I'm sure their spouses appreciate.
Men are so good at having issues the one thing you can do is pass on any issues you have to them!
That way you'll also have plenty of time to just back, relax and have time to read a great book!
Poor Jacob! I do enjoy reading about tortured heroes but I think there also has to be someone they connected to during their life.
mce1011 AT aol DOT com
I do think you can torture too much but I do feel some is appropriate. I feel it is great for taking them down a peg or two.
debby236 at gmail dot com
As I started reading this post my thought was 'we all have fears and worries'. But as I read further, I found that Jacob certainly has more to deal with than most of us. And he is precisely the type of character I like to see get their HEA.
sallans d at yahoo dot com
A tortured hero is my cup of tea! I love finding out why he is having attitude problems. It makes the story seem more real because no one is perfect and the man seems more human when he has flaws. I love my hubby but he aggravates me sometimes. I am still finding out things about him after 25 years. LOL!
I don't think I have ever read a book with a hero that was too tortured. A tortured hero makes for great reading. It's wonderful to unravel him & sort through the baggage.
Good morning, Kate. I also like tortured heroes. No one is perfect and if they didn't have flaws, they wouldn't be any fun to read about. I do believe they could be too tortured also, but I have never read one who was. Of course, they have to have their HEA.
kscathy@yahoo.com
Hi everyone,
Great to read everyone's comments. It's really interesting to see the different perspectives. I, of course, love tortured heroes, although funnily enough the hero I am writing right now isn't tortured at all, although he has reason enough to be... a bit of a twist on the usual guy I write. Happy reading!
xo Kate
I have always enjoyed the tortured souls stories, they are usually my favorite heroes. I think there probably is a point where they are too tortured, although I haven't ran into one yet. I think it gives them more depth and character.
seriousreader at live dot com
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