A while back, a very astute reader of mine wrote (and I paraphrase) that the key to my heroes and heroines was that they were constantly trying to get control over one another. It was kind of a "duh" moment for me, because it was so on the money. On reflection, I thought that sensibility was probably informed by and unconsciously stemmed from the moment, when we were first married, that my husband said to me, "you're gong to try to bulldoze all over me -- and I'm not going to let you."

Well, what woman can resist such a challenge? I'm happy to report we're still married, we talk a lot, argue a lot, love a lot -- and among other things, he brings in the papers every morning; he cooks; he fixes things; he builds bookcases; and he's got my back -- but beyond that, even after all this time, I still feel enfolded by him.

He is my hero. He's the guy who drives me nuts, keeps me sane, is my best friend in the world, and tells it to me straight -- and you know the hero is the one who always tells you what you don't want to know.

But heroes in ficton come in a variety of flavors -- this is my list of heroes I love to love. Who's on yours?

The Good Guy:
Everyone loves the good guy, the renaissance man who's just been waiting for the woman of his dreams. Healthy childhood, no wounds, handsome, he's the one you lean on when your life is turned upside down; he's steady, gives fantastic advice, is decisive, funny, and loves his mother (always a prime point for mothers of sons). And he'll always fall for the woman who is in critical chaos because he's the problem solver, the rock, and will always be the thing a heroine wants the most: an anchor.

The Bad Boy
He's that guy in high school with that look in his eye. In just one glance, he knew everything: who you were, how far you'd go, and where he'd like to take you. He's magnetic, experienced, a little rough, a little rakish, a leader without really wanting to lead; strong, decisive, and probably doesn't like to talk much, especially about his feelings -- but oh, man, does he ever have them. He loves women, but no woman is ever going to tame him. And when he falls, he takes a nosedive to eternity.

The Wounded Hero
There's some great trauma in his life; he is psychically damaged and he's not going to let any woman into his life. He has nothing to give her; he's too busy tending that hurt crippled inner self. He doesn't want to feel, he doesn't want to do; and he habitually picks fights so he can chase everyone away. He can't share his life, can't allow the heroine to assume his stain, his burden, his guilt. He just wants to be off on some island, alone, nursing that part of himself that needs to be made whole. And guess who's right in the rowboat behind him?

The Unobtainable Man
Seems not to like women at all. No one gets to him. It's like battering at a wall. He's cool, logical, seemingly without emotions. He never lets you see him sweat. He's an island unto himself. He's got all the answers. And he always reveals them first so he can cover his behind. He doesn't need anyone, which he won't hesitate to tell you.. But of course, he's the one who needs someone most of all. The heroine has to storm the fortress, and when she finds his tender spot, he is hers forever.

Mr. Unflappable
Nothing rattles this guy, nothing scares him; there's no problem he can't solve, no situation he can't get out of. He's walking the line, but he's got such a sense of humor and irony, nothing jolts him. He mows down everything in his past. He doesn't take anything seriously, and he takes love too lightly. Some days the heroine can't even get him to commit to saying hello. He's a pretty happy guy, but somewhere along the line, someone probably hurt him, so his deal is, don't get too close too soon. And of course, our heroine can't get too close soon enough.

The Scoundrel
He was badly hurt by a woman somewhere deep in his past. He loves 'em and leaves 'em, uses 'em and loses 'em. Takes out his anger on all womenkind, but especially the heroine, particularly because she gets to him and he doesn't want to be gotten to. But she gets under his skin and before you know it, he's protecting, defending and loving her, protesting his misogynist nature to the very end.

The Outlaw
He's been convicted of a crime he didn't commit and he's on the run..But he's always got a reason, and it's always plausible as hell. He's going to protect the woman he loves by NOT letting her into his life, and by reappearing in hers often enough to drive them both crazy. And she can't stay away. Truth to tell, he doesn't want her to, but he'll never admit it. He'll protest he's a loner, but he knows not only does she believe in him, she'll even go on run with him. because ultimately she has faith she will clear his name -- and she will make him vulnerable -- and make him hers --

Vulnerable and yours -- just what we strive for -- in fiction and in life ...

Two lucky readers who comment will win copies of the 10th anniversary reissue of the Fascinated anthology along with copies each of Little Black Book and Bad As She Wants To Be.

Thea Devine is the author of more than two dozen erotic historical and contemporary novels and a dozen novellas. Look for Sex, Lies & Secret Lives, from Pocket Books, April 2010 -- If You Dare ...

My new series is being launched tomorrow! The first book, Ravishing in Red, involves a world built around a small group of women who live together on a property outside of London, where they grow flowers and plants as a business. Ravishing in Red is the story of Audrianna, the most recent arrival to the household.

Determined to clear her dead father’s name of the scandal and accusations that drove him to his grave, she ventures to an inn to meet a man whom she believes has information that will help her. Instead she meets Lord Sebastian Summerhays, brother of the Marquess of Wittonbury, who has also seen the advertisement that drew Audrianna. He too wants the truth about that scandal, but he assumes her father was guilty, and only one of several players in the conspiracy it touches.

That fateful night begins a relationship where the two characters are at cross-purposes regarding the mystery, but thrown intimately together by accident, then scandal, then passion.

In conceiving this series, I was inspired by research done years ago when I wrote medieval historical romances. That something so unrelated found its way into a Regency book may sound unusual, but lots of things get pulled out of my head when I am writing and inspiration comes from many sources. Sometimes I just have to adapt and mold them to the current book.

In this case, I became fascinated with what were known as beguines during the late middle ages. These were communities of women, usually found in cities and towns. The women lived together communally, but they were not nuns. These women lived together as sisters, and would even go out and work in the town during the day. Some of beguines became very large, and one was even supported financially by a king of France.

How interesting, I thought. This was not something you read about in normal history books. It was one of those footnotes that really enrich our knowledge of history.

I filed this away in my head, and when I was brainstorming this series, it popped out. What if I had a group of women join together like this only not in the middle ages? And so, The Rarest Blooms was born.

In Ravishing in Red, readers will see how this is not a normal household. There is a Rule that governs them, much as monastic orders and convents have Rules (meaning a code of behavior and purpose). In the series it is called Daphne’s Rule, because Daphne is the character who owns the property and who invites the various women to live there. However, even Daphne is subject to the Rule.

One part of the Rule is that each member of the household contributes to its upkeep as she can. Audrianna has a talent with music, so she gives music lessons to young girls, and also writes popular songs sold as sheet music in London. When the scandal about her and Sebastian breaks, her publisher finds a way to exploit it to increase his sales, to her devastation.

There is another community in the series, but it is less organized. That is the looser one of old friends, and the heroes belong to it. It is far more elevated in society, and very much a “guys’ world”. I hope that you will step into both worlds, and see how they intermingle, book by book, as these characters grow and live.

Do you think you could live in a situation like The Rarest Blooms? Have you ever done so in the past? There is less “yours is yours and mine in mine” than we are used to in such a community. Do you think you would like living in one?

I will give away an Audio book of Lessons of Desire, unabridged to someone who comments.

For tens of thousands of self-employed people, myself included, January 15th is the day the final quarterly payment (otherwise known as the final pound of flesh) for the previous tax year is due. But for me it has an additional significance. Twenty-seven years ago (January 15th, 1983)—the exact time, other than it was in the morning, escapes me—my entire world changed. At the time I was seven and a half months pregnant with my second child, my physicist husband had been laid off for eight months and my mother, my best friend in the whole world, had died the previous year, one month before my very first book hit the stands. I was in the shower when my husband knocked on the door to tell me that my agent was on the phone and wanted to speak to me. Lumbering out (I was eating for seventeen at the time) I resigned myself to hearing my agent read yet another rejection letter to me. After selling a heady six books in a short amount of time, three to Second Chance at Love and three to Loveswept, I was stuck in a holding pattern, unable to get another sale with either publisher, or any other for that matter. In a nutshell I was feeling less than optimistic about what seemed to be my late, lamented so-called career.

And then, suddenly, as I took the receiver, placed it to my ear and said hello, the black storm clouds dried up, the raindrops vanished and the sun burst forth. Karen Solem, the then head of Silhouette Books, had read my Desire proposal and had called it “Perfect.” That was the word she used, my agent assured me as I struggled desperately not to hyperventilate. “Perfect.” Moreover, Karen was offering me a contract for this “perfect” proposal. Was I interested? Interested??? I would have written it for free, naked in Times Square (I was seven and a half months pregnant, who would look?). Luckily, I wouldn’t have to write it for free (or naked). Terms were quoted and quickly agreed to (I wasn’t taking any chances that they would come to their senses and change their minds) and thus my lovely, charmed life with Silhouette began. Twenty-seven years later, they still haven’t come to their senses. I was just offered an eight book contract this morning, bringing my grand, unbelievable total to two hundred twenty-eight books, two hundred and fourteen of which bear the Harlequin/Silhouette insignia.

What this back-story qualifies me to say is, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (or, if you prefer, If you write it, they will come). Simply put, if you want something, really want something, don’t give up. Keep trying, keep working, it will happen. It did for me.

http://www.marieferrarella.com/