I've written a few romances now. Well, okay, more than a few. More than twenty five published ones, in fact. (Yay!) And I'm in the process of deciding what story to write next as I've just handed a book in to my editor. The world is my oyster as I let my imagination run free to come up with a romance I'm burning to write. I'm also in the lovely position of having a book out now, called SEDUCING HIS ENEMY'S DAUGHTER so you can see there are some exciting things happening right now.
As a result, my mind has been drawn again and again to the sort of hero I'd like to write next. He'll be strong, I know that, and determined. Will he be tortured by a difficult past, or maybe happy with his lot in the world?
I confess that, because SEDUCING HIS ENEMY'S DAUGHTER is currently receiving reader feedback (positive, I'm glad to say), I've been thinking a lot about Donato, my hero in that story. He's a classic rags to riches hero. Born to poverty, he'd lived most of his childhood in places most parents would fight to keep their kids away from. To say he came from the wrong side of the tracks is an understatement. He understood the seamier side of life while still young, but a series of events which could have broken a lesser spirit, instead make him determined to succeed and make something positive of himself.
One of the things I particularly enjoyed about Donato was that he'd got where he was (with wealth, confidence and success) on his own merits. He didn't get a head start from his family but worked against the odds to succeed. That takes courage, determination and energy. I think too that appeals to the part of me that enjoys seeing the underdog win. He turned his life around after an early brush with the law and incarceration, which made him see the two different directions his life could take in stark detail.
So now I'm wondering if my next hero should be a hero with a dark past, from the wrong side of the tracks and past actions that have made him the man he is today. Or perhaps someone born to privilege, who's known success and has a golden touch.
What do you think? Do you enjoy seeing the underdog come out on top? Or stories about a reformed bad boy? Or do you prefer stories (like the sheikh stories I enjoy) where the hero was born knowing he carried the weight of duty as well as privilege on his shoulders.
Donato Salazar can’t forget his tragic past and he has no intention of forgiving the man responsible. Jilting his enemy’s daughter will be the icing on the cake of his revenge, and beautiful Ella Sanderson is certainly sweet enough.
Except Ella isn’t the vacuous socialite he expected and she refuses to marry him! Her rebelliousness only makes Donato want her more, so he’ll have to persuade her…touch by breathtaking touch.
But soon Donato finds himself enthralled by their magnetic connection. As their fake wedding day approaches, one question weighs heavily on Donato’s mind: to love, honor…and betray?
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