Star Wars.  It’s the quintessential Hero’s Journey movie. 

Luke Skywalker.  He’s the quintessential reluctant hero and basically a Lost Soul.  His character speaks to the questioning, yearning nature we all have deep inside of us.  How simple life would be if everyone good wore white like Obi-wan Kenobi and if all villains wore black like Darth Vader.

Stats:

He lives a life he hates.  He’s immature and whiny.  He feels as if he’s suffocating and feels frustrated, bitter, reckless, naïve, and has a romanticized view of war. 

The Look:

He’s got the innocent look: blond hair, blue eyes, skinny frame.  Not necessarily the hero physique of, say, Han Solo.  But Luke has his own charm as he grows in his own self-awareness and in his maturity.

The Lowdown:

Luke’s journey is a typical hero’s journey.  He get the call to action, crosses the threshold to face an unknown danger, he meets his mentors, enters the abyss and undergoes transformation of character, and after facing death, Luke fully changes.  The movie Star Wars is full of metaphors.  When the walls of the trash compactor begin to close it, it mimicks the reality of life closing in on us when we go into avoidance.  But Luke manages to overcome his typical reaction and controls his emotions, consequently saving his friends. 

Luke was never my favorite character in Star Wars (hard to compete with the raw sex appeal of Han Solo), but he is a great character study and a true hero.
Question of the Day:

Are you able to embrace the unknown, thereby allowing yourself to be open to whatever the future may hold?

 It’s In His Kiss, Julia Quinn (Avon, 2005)

Gareth St. Clair is part Charmer, part Lost Soul.  He’s one of the many heroes created by Julia Quinn in her Bridgerton series.  Read on to learn more about Gareth. 

STATS:  

“He was tall, although not overly so, with an athlete’s grace and strength and a face that was just imperfect enough to be handsome, rather than pretty.

And his eyes were blue.  Really blue.  Uncomfortably blue.”

THE LOOK:

Gareth wears his dark hair in a queue at the back of his neck, an especially rakish look for, well, a rake.

“He’d always reminded her of a lion, fierce and predatory, filled with restless energy.  is hair, too, was tawny, hovering in that curious state between light brown and dark blond, and he wore it rakishly, defying convention by keeping it just long enough to tie in a short queue at the back of his neck.”

LEADING LADY:

Hyacinth Bridgerton doesn’t fit the typical ton stereotype for a fair maiden.  She’s smart, opinionated, witty, and sarcastic.  And she doesn’t try to hide any of these traits.  While she isn’t the right woman–and wouldn’t make a good wife–for most men, she happens to be perfect for Gareth.  He enjoys himself when he’s with her, especially those characteristics that have kept other men away from her.  Hyacinth isn’t a wallflower; she’s closer to a rose, complete with thorns.  

“And he realized that she had–and she was–wo many things he’d always wanted.

She knew her place in this world.  She knew where she belonged.

She knew who she belonged with…

…He could count the number of times he’d kissed her on one hand, and yet he still knew, still understood, that this was the essence of her.  She was unique in his arms, beneath his kiss, and he knew that no one else would ever do again.”

It’s All About the Tension. Oh, and It’s in his Kiss:

Hyacinth, despite her obstinate nature, is still an inexperienced young woman.  Even in the midst of passion, she has difficulty admitting her inexperience, however.  

“It was perfect, and he could feel her reaction through her dress.

He wanted to take her into his mouth, to peel the dress from her body and do a hundred wicked things to her.

He felt the resistance slip from her body, heard her sigh against his mouth.  She’d never been kissed before; he was quite certain of that.  But she was eager, and she was aroused.  He could feel it in the way her body pressed against his, the way her fingers clutched desperately at his shoulders.

‘Kiss me back,’ he murmured, nibbling at her lips.

‘I am,’ came her muffled reply.

He drew back, just an inch.  ‘You need a lesson or two,’ he said with a smile.  ‘But don’t worry, we’ll get you good at this.’

He leaned in to kiss her once more–dear God, he was enjoying this–but she wriggled away.

‘Hyacinth,’ he said huskily, catching her hand in his.  He tugged, intending to pull her back against him, but she yanked her hand free.  

Gareth raised his brows, waiting for her to say something.

This was Hyacinth, after all.  Surely she’d say something.”

BOTTOM LINE:

Gareth St. Clair is a man worth getting to know.  He’s got a lot of baggage, what with his mother’s infidelity and how that affected his upbringing.  It continues to affect him well into adulthood, although he doesn’t realize it until it is so blatantly pointed out to him by the man he’s cursed to call father.   When Gareth thinks of marrying Hyacinth, he sees the two of them, as well as all of Hyacinth’s family.  It’s a welcoming picture and fills him with pleasure.  

Adding to his pleasure is the fact that marrying Hyacinth Bridgerton will completely show up the Baron, his father.    “It would kill him.  Absolutely kill him.”

All the emotional browbeating Gareth received growing up makes him vulnerable and allows the reader to understand him.  His lack of understanding about his own motivations nearly drive Hyacinth from him a time or two, but in the end, they completely understand and compliment each other.  

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Are you a fan of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series?  Which is your favorite book, and why?

TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer, Little Brown , 2005

STATS: 87 year old Vampire.

THE LOOK: Edward Cullen’s tall and lithe body suggests he’s eighteen year old, when in fact he’s much older. He was turned into a Vampire at the age of seventeen, while dying of influenza in 1918. The man who turned him then adopted him into his growing Vampire family.

He’s strangely beautiful, with pale features that shine from under untidy bronze-colored hair. When he’s hungry, purplish bruise-like shadows appear under his coal black eyes, as if he had more then just one sleepless night. His family is made up of ‘reformed vampires’, ones that feed on animal blood, not human.

LEADING LADY: Sixteen year-old Isabella Swan (Bella) recently moved from Phoenix, Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington where she encounters the strange Cullen Clan of Vampires. She has an instant, irresistible attraction to Edward Cullen, and he to her. They attend the same high school, and Edward is Bella’s lab partner in Biology class.

Isabella is the only child of Police Chief Charlie Swan. Her parents divorced when she was young, and Bella just recently decided to move to Washington to be with her father and finish high school in the sunless climate of the north.

Their first close encounter:

“I didn’t look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder making a dark current between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.”

Riding in Edward’s brother’s jeep:

“What’s all this?” I asked when he opened the door.

“It’s an off-roading harness.”

“Uh-oh.”

Edward turned the key and the engine roared to life.

We pulled away from the house.

“This is a….um…big jeep you have.”

“It’s Emmet’s. I didn’t think you’d want to run the whole way.”

“Aren’t you going to put on a seat belt?”

He threw me a disbelieving look.”

Weaknesses: Edward has fallen in love with Bella, and she with him. The fact that he’s a Vampire and she’s a mortal complicates both their lives. Edward’s world is a dangerous place for Bella. He must protect her from other Vampires on the prowl looking for human blood, as well as those seeking revenge against his clan. Not to mention himself and his natural instincts.

BOTTOM LINE: When Edward first notices Bella in school, he’s immediately drawn to her. His attraction sprouts from his inability to control her, or read her thoughts. Still he resists her, avoiding her, trying to drive her away with rudeness. He fears loving her or anyone. He’s a lost soul, moving away from people and things when life gets too close to him. Bella is someone he cannot resist.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What is the attraction to the dark, mysterious Vampires?

Writing about one’s favorite hero in romance literature is like asking for a favorite color.  There are so many choices, variations, and hues.  How could a person decide from among them?

After some contemplation, I’ve come up with a beloved hero from my recent readings.

Author Anna Campbell, who is a fellow Bandida with me and nineteen other 2006 Golden Heart finalists, writes Regency noir.  Her second novel, UNTOUCHED (currently available and published by Avon), presents the tortured, lonely Matthew Lansdowne, Marquess of Sheene.

Matthew is a man falsely imprisoned by his conniving uncle, who tortures the Marquess to keep him cowed, claiming he is mad.  To provide amusement for his charge, Lord John kidnaps a woman and confines her in the prison estate with the hero.  But Grace Paget is no common trollop; she’s an impoverished widow mistaken for a prostitute.

At first Matthew is a Lost Soul.  Having been incarcerated from the age of fourteen, he’s a man who’s never known a woman, a virgin having no experience with the frailer sex.  A sensitive, creative man, he tends to his hybrid roses in the courtyard garden, developing new floral strains and writing detailed horticultural accounts.  

Matthew is a loner less by choice than by circumstances.  Tormented by the heinous actions of his uncle, he resigns himself to living out the remainder of his life in seclusion and loneliness.

Until Grace Paget arrives.

Initially, when Grace is thrust into his life, he wants nothing to do with her.  If she’d been an ordinary whore, he’d have found no romantic interest in her, but she is the woman of his youthful dreams and fantasies, and he finds himself unwillingly drawn to her.  As a Lost Soul himself, he understands her terror and sympathizes with her fear. 

But Matthew is also a Warrior.  Contradicting his noble nature, he refuses to submit to his uncle’s machinations and tells Grace, “But I am not a man of honor . . . I am just a poor helpless lunatic.”  However, her helplessness brings out the champion in him.  He can no more abandon her than he can escape again, knowing his defection puts those he loves at risk. 

He refuses to succumb to his desire to make Grace his own and clings to his humanity even as he’s driven by his passion for her.  How much easier to take her and ease his own pain!  But he refuses to compromise her honor.  Eventually he makes the greatest sacrifice of all and plots to free the young widow from sharing the hell of his own bondage.  He acknowledges his feelings to himself:  “Tonight’s joy would always be a thread of bright gold woven through his life’s ragged fabric.  He’d passed through a transforming fire.”

Even imprisoned and at the mercy of cruel, merciless guards, Matthew finds a way to protect Grace.  Both Warrior and Lost Soul, he finds his way to redemption and emancipation through his love for Grace.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What do you think the keys are to crafting a complex hero such at Matthew Lansdowne?

Jo Robertson, a retired school teacher and the author of three unpublished romantic suspense novels, is currently working on an early 1900’s historical.  She’s a founding member of Romance Bandits  and also a member of RWA and her local chapter, Sacramento Valley Rose.