Allie Pleiter on Heroes

Heroes

Some heroes are dashing, take charge men who need a woman with spine enough to show him he’s incomplete without an equal partner.  Other heroes are dark, brooding characters who need the love of a good woman to restore them to wholeness.  Many heroes are complex guys who fall somewhere in between.  The best heroes take character traits we know and love and give them a unique, creative twist—we wouldn’t love Indiana Jones half as much if he weren’t queasy about snakes, would we?

Me, I tend toward the dashing types.  James Bond, Indiana Jones, the larger than life heroes.  John Gallows from Homefront Hero was among my favorite of my dashing heroes, as was Matthew Covington from Masked by Moonlight or my upcoming hero Max Jones from August’s A Heart to Heal.  I love to take their bravado and crack it a bit until we see the loyal, loving man underneath all that high-visibility heroism.

I’ve written my share of brooding heroes, too, such as Clint Thornton in my current release The Lawman’s Oklahoma Sweetheart, Chad Owens in Falling for the Fireman, or Gil Sorrent from Bluegrass Hero.  I like peeling away their crusty shells until I find the soft center (wow—sounds rather culinary, doesn’t it?) that enables these men to love deeply.

Either way, a good hero is a joy to read—especially when he meets his match in a great heroine.

What about you?  Do you go for the dashing or the brooding hero?  Who have been some of your favorites from books or movies?