Holdin' Out For A Hero

Without a doubt, one of my favorite parts of writing is characters. Sure, I love crafting a plot, but characters? They're the best.

In my mystery series (written under the pen name, Elizabeth Lynn Casey), I've created a whole cast of characters that return in each book. Characters with quirks and personalities that are as unique as, well, real people. When it's time to write the next book in the series, it's like spending time with old friends. When I'm done writing, and it's time to send the book in, I miss them.

Because they're real. To me. And, I hope, to my readers, as well.

Come November, I'll have my first holiday romance--MIRACLE BABY--with Harlequin American. It's a story about loss and healing and, of course, love. But it was the characters that I most enjoyed writing. They made the loss and the healing real. And the love? Well, it got me choked up.

The hero in this book, Rory O'Brien, is just that...a true romantic hero. The kind of guy you root for from page one. Not just because he's good looking, but because he's special. The kind of guy who sees beyond the exterior to what's inside.

And then fights for it.

As a writer, you hope that what you set out to portray is, in fact, what the reader gets. So when I read Romantic Times' review of the book this past weekend, I was thrilled.

Because they got it.

They got him.

"Both Maggie Monroe and Rory O'Brien have known the devastating pain of losing people they loved, but Maggie hasn't moved on yet. Slowly, Rory insinuates himself into her life, bringing her joy and hope. A truly romantic hero swoops in to save a woman from her fear of living her life. Rory and Maggie are soul mates and Bradford's story is touching, romantic and perfect for the holidays."

Okay, pinch me.

Rory is, in every sense of the word, a giver. The kind of person that doesn't keep a tally sheet. The kind of man that makes you believe in love and its power. To heal. To nurture. To grow.

So tell me, what makes a true romantic hero for you?

~Laura