Hi friends,
I’m super excited to share my inspiration for characters with you today and to introduce you to Callen Frost. Callen is the hero of my first stand-alone novella, Deadly Isle. It was part of the Cost of Betrayal collection, but I’m thrilled to say it’s available for pre-order now and releases as an individual e-novella with a gorgeous cover on February 5th. Hope you’ll grab a copy.
Callen Frost
Deadly Isle’s hero is Callen Frost. Here’s a little bit about him:
I love writing strong, protective and loving heroes. Men who don’t hesitate to do what’s right. Heroes who fight for justice. Who love deeply.
I’ve picked my top three favorite fictional heroes. I’d love to hear who your favorite fictional heroes are!
Aragorn
Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R Tokien. Aragorn is my absolute favorite kind of hero—a warrior poet. He takes on the Nazgul without hesitation, even when he’s greatly outnumbered. But, he displays tenderness with his love Arwen. He’s loyal, willing to give his life to protect Frodo, he fights and loves fiercely.
Mr. Knightley
Mr. Knightley from Emma by Jane Austen. It was a hard pick between Mr. Knightley and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. In fact, it was a really tough decision between pretty much all of Jane Austen’s heroes. She sure knew how to write endearing heroes who linger with you long after the novel is over. I adore Mr. Knightley’s devout love for Emma, his respect and admiration for her, and his desire to see her be the best version of herself she can be.
Marcus O’Malley
Last, but certainly not least is Marcus O’Malley from Dee Henderson’s The Guardian. Dee knows how to write heroes I fall in love with. They are strong, admirable and wonderful brothers within their tight-knit family.
Question for you:
Who are your favorite fictional heroes and what kind of heroes do you love to read about?
Have a blessed week!
Dani
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It´ s only a few months, when I have fallen in love with Aragorn and with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He is the high ideal :-).
And I still like Michael Hosea. It´ s a strong character. I admire his faith, his love and his patience.
And then I like ,, everyday heroes´´´ ´ . When you can´ t discover their ,, quality´´ ´ at first sight. But they always surprise you in the end. I like it in films, books and in life too :-).
Great choices! Thanks so much for sharing about everyday heroes. Love it! They are the most authentic and ‘real’ heroes in fiction and in life. Have a great day.
Aragon is definitely one of them. As I was reading the book I could sympathize with his struggle to be who he really is. He is someone that will not let evil win, loyal to a fault and so loving. You can tell who he is by the characters of friends.
Marcus O’Malley was the other one. I love how he leads the family. His late night conversations with Kate, his competitiveness, his sense of humor, his convictions of right and wrong.His family knows that he will drop everything when they need him and it is the family motto. I am so glad that Sherri understands this.
I definitely love them both and their character. Marcus’s late night chats with Kate are so sweet. What a great brother.
I liked Aragorn also, but I think my favorite all-time hero has always been Rhett Butler in GONE WITH THE WIND. He doesn’t take any guff from Scarlett and he takes care of business, being compassionate to the southerners who are losing everything during Sherman’s march to the sea and to the slaves who did not deserve to be slaves.
Oh, great pick. Love hearing about everyone’s favorites. Thanks so much for sharing. Have a great day.
Great picks on the hero scale, Dani! I love the strong, sacrificial type. 🙂 One of my favorites is in The Last of the Mohicans when Daniel Day Lewis’s character Hawkeye rescues Cora and her sister. The best part though is under the waterfall when he tells her to do whatever it takes to survive because he WILL find her. My heart pitter-patters every time.
Awww. Great hero!!!! Love hearing everyone’s picks. Hawkeye was wonderful. Have a good day, friend 🙂
My favorites are any and all of the medieval heroes written by Tamara Leigh. As well as the military heroes in Ronie Kendig books. These ladies know how to write tough, rugged, yet honorable men who are willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for their countries, families and women they love. WHEW!! Someone hand me a fan!!
I loved this glimpse into your hero inspirations, Dani!
Aww. Thanks, friend.
I teach English and world literature and love introducing students to my top three literary heroes: Atticus Finch, Mr. Darcy, and Hector from the Iliad.
Atticus’s quiet strength, his insistence on doing what is right without being self-righteous and hating his fellow townsfolk, and his empathy for others are pretty great qualities.
Mr. Darcy’s character development, and his basic decency, regardless of how the world sees him, are also wonderful.
And as for Hector, I love how this character loves his wife and son, in an age when those qualities weren’t considered ideals by the culture. Homer obviously thought highly of him, since he got all the wonderful traits that Achilles lacked. 🙄
But, I have to agree wholeheartedly about Aragorn…
Oooh. Great picks. Love your choices and the reasons behind each pick. Thanks so much for sharing.
Mr. Darcy and Captain Wentworth.
Excellent choices and my runners-up 😀
I am very drawn to the Hero who is quietly watching and sees what others don’t, he may not be the loudest or the one who people think about first, but he is strong and protective and loves deep. Colonel Brandon is one of my favorites, he is always overlooked, but he is there, always making sure he can help in any way. Seeing where he is needed and doing what he can to make things better for others, but not wanting the credit.
James Percy, from Louisa May Alcott’s lesser known book The Inheritance, is a kind, stoic hero. He, like Colonel Brandon, is in the background watching, seeing what others don’t, and picking out the good qualities in others that get overlooked. He also fell in love with someone who couldn’t love him back and he respected that and, as a gentleman he was, didn’t push it.
Last is Samwise Gamgee, Sam has your back, he believes in you even when you don’t believe in yourself. He is steady, dependable, and the best back up to have. He doesn’t want the spotlight, but he is the one who always helps you along the way. If you can finish, Sam will carry you the rest of the way. He isn’t the biggest, he doesn’t shine the brightest, but for those who are willing to look harder, knows he is the best. These are my heroes.
Wow! That is quite the list you have there. I have read Emma, but not seen the movie. Yikes. I need to asap! I loved Mr. Knightley in the book. I haven’t read the O’malley series either. So, that is number two on my list of things to do. So, I am gonna go with Aragorn. I read the books and saw the movies. Swoon! He was ruggedly handsome… and now I need to go fan myself.
YES! I would love to meet a real Marcus O’Malley! or any of the other O’Malley brothers ! sigh…Do men like them really exist?
My hero’s are just about any man in uniform Tox Ronie Kendig, or Chris Kyle in real life. Any man in a cowboy hat and boots Shane, or in real life my dad!
One of my favorite heroes is Faramir from Lord of the Rings. He is wise, strong, loving and has a beautiful, compassionate side. He’s loyal, but he also knows who to listen to and recognises Aragorn as the true king. I love way he sees through Eowyn’s hurts and mask and understands her heart. Unfortunately the movies don’t portray him with the same depth as the books do.
Marcus O’Malley from the O’Malley series and Jake Cavanaugh from your Alaska series are great heroes.
I loved this post! I totally get where you’re coming from about Aragorn, but my swoon-worthy character from Lord of the Rings was Faramir. I love him because of how much he loves Eowyn; she was, I think, feeling second-best to Arwen because Aragorn chose Arwen over her. I relate to the feeling of being second-best and I love that Faramir’s profession of love for her was so clear and so healing.
As for Dee Henderson’s heroes, I’m with you – Marcus is my fave. Other standout favorites are Gage from Susan May Warren’s Montana Rescue series and Jake from Becky Wade’s Porter family series. Since I am a military spouse and have people in my life who suffer from PTSD, Jake’s character illuminated some inner motivations that folks with PTSD may have, but the will to keep loving through a broken heart is strong and captivating.