We want to welcome Becca Dale to the blog today! She taking part of one of our Book Lovin’ Bitches Ebook Tours! Today we’re hoping to learn more about Becca and her work. Yesterday, I posted a review of Untamable. This isn’t a long book, it’s short and steamy and easy to fly through in an hour! Becca is going to be making quite a few stops on her tour. To see where else she will be appearing, click here.
Becca has been having books published for a few years. According to Goodreads, she has published: Tied up with Green, Ice Crystal, Adarkan’s Salvation, Surrender at Sea, Woodland Fantasy, Kya’s King, Sweet Temptation, Untamable, and has a new one out – Naughty Enough!
The question that I posed to Becca for today’s post was: “How do you create your heroes and your thoughts on what makes the “perfect” hero. Do you have a favorite hero from your books and why?” Here’s her answer:
Through Loving Eyes—The Creation of a Hero
I have polled readers and fellow authors alike through the years asking what makes the perfect hero. The answer seems to consistently be whatever the heroine needs. This simple guideline has become the only boundary for my books. A man can be excessively arrogant (Untamable), or adorably cocky (Surrender at Sea), or incredibly sweet (Sweet Temptation), or a hundred other things, but he must find and fulfill the heroine’s greatest needs and desires.
In “Sweet Temptation” Marc does this without conscious thought. Darcy’s poor body image has prevented her from stepping away from her family’s negative control. Marc’s big hands and broad chest make her feel feminine and precious, and the way he appreciates her curves doesn’t hurt either. Among my readers, Marc holds the top spot in the perfect-for-every-woman, wow-I-want-my-man-to-look-at-me-like-that category.
Sean from “Surrender at Sea” is absolutely not what Jess is looking for but exactly what she needs. Jess has lived responsibly since her junior year in high school and does not see the value of kicking back. Sean offers her a chance to be carefree. He is the lead contender for women who want a man who can laugh at himself and the world while still being dependable when necessary.
That brings me to Thor and “Untamable.” Thorvald “Thunder” Hanson represents the men in my own life the most in that he is reluctant to share his feelings. Although he is Lily’s greatest fantasy, she needs to know that she is his perfect woman, as well. For a rodeo rider, Thor is surprisingly slow out of the chute. It takes him a bit-over eight years in fact-to realize he must become what Lily needs-a man who loves her without hesitation. He has to grow up and man up, oh, but when he does, he does it so dang well. Thor presently has the lead as my most arrogant and frustrating yet incredibly desirable hero because when he finally expresses himself, there remains no shadow of doubt concerning his feelings.
So how is a hero created? My heroes come from the world around me. They appear in the smile of an old woman as her eighty-plus husband helps her across a patch of ice, or the laughter from a group of young cowboys strutting down the street. Often they develop from something my personal hero says to make me smile at the end of a hard day. Among the stories I have published, I cannot pick a favorite man as each is special in a different way. I tend to look for heroes in the grocery store, on the highways, everywhere I go in fact, but I discover them, more often than not, through the eyes of women. No matter what a woman looks for in a man physically, it is what she sees in his soul that matters. My stories quite often spin forward from the way a woman touches the arm of the man holding her baby, or smiles at a lame joke from a shy guy, or laces her fingers through her boyfriend’s and skips beside him to his battered old vehicle. I am a huge sucker for the story behind the eyes of love.
I just love Becca’s answer – I guess we know why she’s the author and I’m the blogger – I certainly am not that elegant with words 🙂 Have a look at what Becca has written, read the reviews on Goodreads and elsewhere and pick up one or more of her books!
You can find her blog here, and certainly follower her on Facebook to find out the latest news!
Thanks for hosting me today, Barb. I look forward to visiting with your friends. I will mention that Naughty Enough is not a book – though perhaps it should be…hmmmm…that could be a really fun venture. Currently though, Naughty Enough is sort of my slogan. My editors often “encourage” me to push the sexual boundaries in my work, wanting more erotica in my erotic romance. Since most of my stories are 25K or less, I don’t feel comfortable venturing into sexual areas that would require a huge amount of trust from most women, so my standard reply is that my intimate scenes are naughty enough. LOL. My newest from Decadent Publishing’s One-Night Stand series, called Erotic Healing, probably pushes my personal boundaries the hardest in that there is some erotic pain involved; however, if you have a chance to check it out, you will see that romance stays at the forefront and it is perhaps the most tender of my stories. Thanks again for letting me drop by.
Hi Becca!
Thanks for the visit and the correction! I will be sure to do some shopping and see if I can find some more of your stories that I like! It’s been a pleasure hosting you and your book!
Wonderful post. I love that you draw your heroes from everyday life and people. They truly can make for some great stories! I loved Untamable and am going to be reading so much more of your work. Keep bringing the goods and I’ll keep reading lol.
Thanks for sharing,
BK
Thank you, BK. You are too sweet. 😀
Hi BK,
Thanks for the comments! Much appreciated…I looking forward to the next release as well!
I really enjoyed the guest post! It was interesting to know how you create your heroes and I have to agree that the most important is what a woman sees in a man’s soul. That’s why I love reading romances that show not just the physical attraction, but also the emotional connection that grows between the hero and heroine as well. And I just have to say that I love the sound of your heroes! I will be checking those stories out 🙂
Thanks, Winnie. Most of my work is fairly short so I work hard to build that connection in a short time. I hope you enjoy my heroes. 😀