When man first discovered that by grinding colored stone, a bright flower, and greenery together, he made a durable paint, he began telling stories on a wall. Images swirled around in his head, embellished with the creatures he hunted. Thus our first heroes came to life on stone.

Before that was an elusive time. Oral storytelling was the purest form of entertainment. It distracted man from his struggle to survive, and heroes were born out of long winters.

As trade routes developed so did oral stories of great warriors. They braved ancient man’s greatest obstacle–the elements. Tales were passed down, growing with every telling. Giants, unicorns and dragons developed out of the stories to give heroes something to battle.

Common languages were developed. Heroes were given names. In the Greek isles, man told stories using the Gods as their backdrop. The tales of their adventures, both in this world and in the underworld, still live in mosaics. Hercules was born and still is a recognizable name, two thousands years later.

In the bible, heroes rose up out of the sands of the middle-east. David was just such a hero. It was also the beginning of the flawed reluctant hero. Often forged out of battle, the reluctant hero came to the forefront. He became bigger then life, with strengths and virtues rarely questioned.

King Arthur became the very cornerstone of the hero image, with his Knights of the Round Table. The knights, too, had their own stories of heroism, surrounded by the purest of intentions.

Charlemagne, Richard the Lion Heart, the Knights Templars, Rob Roy, Sir William Wallace, Robert of Bruce and so many more others were real people who captured the imagination of those who witnessed their heroism. Stories about them made them bigger than the lives they lived. Tales of their self-sacrifice for the greater cause grew. Whether real or imagined, they perpetuated hero status to its highest form.

Heroes have changed over the generations. We have rock heroes, movie star heroes, heroes in fiction. They are a new kind of pop-culture hero and they are always evolving.

Heroes live on the silver screen and the small screen. They’re on the battlefield of Iraq, and at home fighting fires. They are everywhere we turn. They are the neighbor, who saves a small child from a fire. They are your father, husband, brother, and son. Today you can walk into any book store and find rows of books filled with heroes. All of them find their roots in the original molds. Heroes come from all walks of life, all shapes, and all ethnic backgrounds. And they all have one thing in common: self sacrifice for love. Whether it’s for the love of a good woman, their country, or a greater cause, they always put their purpose before their own well-being. It’s what molds them.

I love my heroes. I have always loved the underdog, the dark, flawed type with a devastating secret. My heroes always have to fight for their coveted redemption. At least in fiction, they manage to find it. These are the types of heroes you can expect from me in my books. The deep, dark ones, who are less than perfect.  The one whose weakness is his sheltered heart and the one who stumbles as he searches out love.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Who was the first character you can remember that struck you as a true hero?