What Makes a Hero? by Linda Steinberg

Posted Feb 7 2014, 5:29 am in Heroes, Linda Steinberg, Romantic Suspense, The French Deception

Tom Hanks, speaking of his title role in the movie Captain Phillips said, “A hero is someone who  walks willingly into the unknown. “

So what kind of men make great romance heroes? Cops? Spies? Military men? Of course. All those, by the nature of their chosen careers, are candidates for danger and intrigue. And the flutter of feminine hearts.

But personally, I love to write about reluctant heroes. The kind of man not necessarily disposed to heroics who finds himself at a crossroads. The call to adventure. When that moment comes, and the person seizes it, he becomes a hero. 

Paul Bernard, the hero of my new romantic suspense novel, The French Deception, is an ordinary, law-abiding computer programmer at the British Embassy in Paris. But when his workplace is bombed, leaving him the only survivor on his team, he unwittingly becomes embroiled in a terrorist plot. He’s not sure, at the outset, if Megan Chandler is the innocent victim she claims to be, or whether he’s being duped by a dangerous terrorist. But when he decides to take the risk to help and protect her, he walks willingly into the unknown. And becomes a hero.

Brian McKay, the hero of my contemporary romance, Only With the Heart, is also a technology geek, more comfortable with machines than people. But when an abused child comes to him for help, he steps up willingly to protect her, even though he knows by doing so that false accusations will be hurled at him. And wins the heart of the little girl’s camp counselor in the process.

What kind of romance heroes do you like to read about? Is there an ‘unconventional’ type of hero who has stolen your heart?

Here’s an excerpt from my romantic suspense novel, The French Deception.

http://www.lindasteinberg.com/thefrenchdeception.html#excerpt

And buy links

The French Deception http://amzn.to/1eL93uY

Only With the Heart http://amzn.to/1a57Wlh

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