My Kind of Hero: Handles Life by Ashantay Peters #romance @WildRosePress

 My Kind of Hero Handles Life

When I began writing this post, I wondered what I could say that would put a different spin on heroes and the role they play in our novels and our lives. Not an easy task, so after a large glass of wine, and a spate of philosophical posturing I gave up, having typed just one question: who can’t help loving a sexy hero?

I see a number of you are waving and mouthing, “Me, me!” And I’m with you. Physical beauty, or the lack of, is often how we make an immediate determination about people.  I’m shallow enough to admit that a sculpted chest, well-muscled thigh, or shock of dark hair in just the right place gives me a cardio workout.

Pair that with thoughtful adaptability and competence and I’m a goner.

Yep, I love flexibility in a man, and I’m not talking the double-jointed kind. (Though that doesn’t  hurt.) When a novel features a human hero who can bounce back from learning his love interest is a shape-changer or super-hero and then accepts her for herself, he’s got me on his side. Or when the hero discovers the woman he just asked for a date is opposing counsel in a nasty divorce case? Yet he finds a way to woo her anyway? Yep, points scored for creativity.

Perhaps the fact that I spent two decades married to a man who believed the only good music was crafted by a limited number of bands from the 1960s has something to do with enjoying heroes who know how to change. But a man who can move with the times is someone who will never become boring. Who will provide that intellectual challenge—not to mention bedroom inventiveness—that adds a certain spark.

Then there’s the practical side of the equation. An open-minded man will often find new answers to old problems. Maybe it won’t always be a smart option—see fail photos of DIY projects for clarification—but my hero is intelligent, remember? So when the babysitter bails, the dream home slips away, or demons are pounding down the door in preface to a madman conquering the world, he’s on the case. And he’s not shy about sharing his ideas for making our world better and asking for the heroine’s help.

I believe any hero who is adaptable, intelligent and competent is also willing to accept the help of his heroine. Maybe not at first, because let’s face it, conflict is inherent to life and every good story. But in the end, he knows that the best way to confront problems is with a strong heroine at his side or covering his back. That puts him head and shoulders above the pack and makes him my hero material.

So, again, who out there loves a sexy hero? A man who is also intelligent and open to change?  Hmm. Some of you don’t agree? I look forward to hearing your opinion on your kind of hero!

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Word Count – 49,400

Published by The Wild Rose Press

Release Date – August 6, 2014

Struggling massage therapist Maggie Jenkins only worries about rent, ducking her fifteen-year high school class reunion and whether she’s too old for her new boyfriend.  Until she finds her client dead with no one else in the building.  And all clues point to Maggie.

Construction supervisor Cam Darrow knows the seven-year difference between him and Maggie means nothing when love is at work.   Convincing her to believe in him isn’t easy when her first love returns to town, evidently set on winning Maggie back.  Not to mention the increasing stack of evidence against Maggie makes Cam worry she’ll be permanently out of his reach – in prison.

When another of Maggie’s classmates dies, it’s apparent the Class of 1999 produced more than graduates. Will the murderer add Maggie to the growing roster of death? Or just continue framing her for the murders?

Excerpt:

         “Your girlfriend came in and lorded it over me today. Then a client died, I ran a media gauntlet, got hauled to the cop shop, and you show up at my house saying you care. Right. Like I can believe you.” I turned my back and tried inserting my key into the lock. The operation took a few tries but the lock finally tumbled.

         Cam moved closer, his hand warm on my upper arm. His voice didn’t linger anywhere near that comfortable temperature. “What do you mean, girlfriend?” He crowded me against the door. “I don’t date anyone but you.”

         “You don’t?” If my voice had popped out sounding    any higher, I’d think I’d inhaled helium. “Nicole Polk said you have a thing going.” My gaze ran over his muscled chest, encased in a tight cotton shirt. “She called me your bimbo.”

         “That woman has bat shit for brains.” He ran the fingers of one hand through his short, dark blond hair.  “She came after me when my engagement fell through. I told her to get lost, but she didn’t back off.”

            I guess my “you’re so full of it” expression didn’t hold the answer he’d wanted. Although I knew Cam’s manners would preclude him from saying, “get lost” in a way Nicole would grasp, I still had doubts.

         He put his hands on my shoulders, his puppy dog brown-eyed gaze fully on me. “I mean it, Maggie. I haven’t been interested in seeing anyone again until you.”

         “But you’re so much-—”

“Younger,” he finished. “Yeah, a few years stand between us. I know. So what? You’re still the woman for me.”

         Right. As if he’d turn down a spin in a classic Jaguar for a ride in my dilapidated Pinto. Metaphorically speaking.

Buy Links:

The Wild Rose Press

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About the Author:

Ashantay Peters lives in the North Carolina mountains, where she loves escaping into a well-written book. Her reading addiction also has her perusing magazines, newspapers, Internet articles and even food labels. The last is often feebly excused as an attempt to maintain health, but her friends know the truth.

Ashantay has two other releases with The Wild Rose Press: Death Stretch and Death Under the Mistletoe and a fourth, Dickens of a Death, will release at Christmas 2014.

She loves to hear from readers and promises not to stalk anyone who contacts her.

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Email - ashantay.peters@gmail.com

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