CJ Carmichael: Favorite Heroes From My Story Vault

Writing fifty novels can make you nostalgic. As I’m working on the very last chapters of the book that will mark the fiftieth of my career, I find myself looking back at the stories I’ve written and wondering… Do I have a favorite “type” of hero?

As I peruse the titles displayed so proudly on the bookshelf in my office I realize that in fact, I have 3 favorite types.

1.       The tough as nails, alpha man: In my stories this sort of hero is often a cop or private detective. His role in the story is usually to protect the heroine, or so he thinks. The truth is that he’s the one who is vulnerable—or at least, his heart is. Here is my all my time favorite alpha hero:

In Same Place, Same Time, Detective Morgan Forester is a tough, brave cop whose wife divorced him when she couldn’t deal with the death of their son. In this story his wife is being targeted by a murderer and he needs to protect her. He knows he can keep her safe, but his own heart will be on the line…because he still loves her.

2.       The Honorable Cowboy: Everyone knows cowboys live by a code and that’s what I love about them. They are men who are short on words and big on action. I’ve written about so many cowboys, because I really do love them, so it’s hard to choose a favorite. But I do have a soft spot in my heart for Colton Hart. He’s the black sheep of his family, and oh how he loves to live up to his reputation…until he meets a woman who makes him want to be a better man.

3.       My third favorite type of hero is the prototypical “Dad Next Door” and my favorite of these is the guy who belongs to the book with that exact name. Gavin Gray has known terrible tragedy in his life. Now all he focuses on is making his little daughter happy. But what he thinks his little girl needs isn’t quite right, as you’ll find in this, what I consider one of my most heartfelt stories about a dad.

4.       Okay, I know I said I had three main types of heroes, but let me quickly mention a fourth—the anti-hero. This guy is so cynical he’s sort of checked out of life. But at his core, he is still an honorable man, even though he won’t admit it.

Dougal Lachlan, the principal character in my Twisted Cedar Mysteries certainly fits this bill. He has a huge chip on his shoulder, related to his family history and his father who went to jail for murder. Overcoming this past is a big part of what this trilogy is about.

Thanks for indulging my trip down memory lane. If you’re still with me, I want to mention a new collection of novels whose heroes happen to make terrific fathers. In honor of dads everywhere this Father’s Day Collection of 5 stories by 5 different authors will be available for the price of 1  for June only.

So you’ve heard about me, and my favorite heroes. Now I want to hear from you! Tell me your favorite hero and which of the above books you’d most like to receive in ebook form. A winner will be chosen at random in about 1 week, so check back here to see if your name was chosen!

Happy June and Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

C. J. Carmichael