Bad hero! Bad, bad hero! Back to Blog
Update: Jessa’s winners are…blodeuedd and Marlene Breakfield. Congratulations!!
Posted by: Jessa Slade
Currently working on: Revisions on Book 3
Mood: In praise of gritted teeth
Hello, Cynthia and friends! Thanks so much for letting me come enjoy your Deadly Days of Summer. And may I say that once again, your heroes for I’LL BE SLAYING YOU and DEADLY FEAR are looking hot, hot, hot! Just right for the season 🙂
I’m glad to take this break from launching the second book of my Marked Souls series (FORGED OF SHADOWS June 2010) and revising the third book (VOWED IN SHADOWS April 2011) because I’ve been having a little trouble lately. Well, not a little trouble. Actually, about 6’4″ of muscular, brooding, smug trouble.
Yes, I’m having hero trouble.
And to make matters worse, he’s not even a hero I’m supposed to be writing!
The hero of the first Marked Souls book, SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, was Ferris Archer. He was quite the Southern gentleman. Well, okay, he was an angry, wounded, marginally suicidal alpha warrior. But still. He is intense and driven, but coldly clear, like a river of glacial run-off that lures you in with its crystal beauty… only to sweep you away with down-the-mountain speed
He wasn’t always easy to write, but I felt I knew him, and he knew himself. Didn’t always like himself, but he was a man of principle and action.
The hero of the second Marked Souls book is Liam Niall. He was more conflicted than Archer. Liam has more doubts, more responsibilities, and a softer heart despite his old life as a blacksmith and now as leader of the Chicago league of demon-possessed warriors.
But he is a man of deep yearnings, and once I found his desire to share his life, he also wanted to share his story with me.
I don’t have a cover for my third hero yet. I imagine somewhere in New York City, a graphic designer is cursing me because my Book 3 hero suffered an, um, accidental maiming in Book 2 that might be hard to portray on the cover. But he too has been a fine hero to write. Finer than most, actually, because at his core he is a righteous man, with a steady, unwavering light in his soul that just needed a little judicious fanning.
So where’s my problem, you ask? There’s another man, another warrior in the Chicago league that several readers have asked about already, even though I only have two books out. They want to know, which one is Ecco’s book?
Oh geez. Ecco isn’t a hero. At least, I never meant him to be. I have this series all plotted out, you know. I plan to write nine books (God, publisher and readers willing! — not necessarily in that order) and none of those books, according to my handy-dandy Excel spreadsheet, shows Ecco as a hero.
Why not? Well, here’s a little excerpt of why not, taken from SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, where the heroine, Sera, is assigned supply chain duties with the talyan warriors Zane and Ecco:
* * *
When it came to snacking, Sera discovered the terrible talyan junk food habit that filled up cart after cart. When Ecco groused about the length of the checkout line and the lack of good magazines, she just about lost it.
“Then quit eating so many doughnuts.”
“I’m supposed to save the world on yogurt and baby carrots?” He looked appalled. “Must be a woman thing.”
She glowered. “Go wait in the car.”
He crossed his arms. “And shirk my duty, risking my soul? Assuming Archer didn’t just shred me for compost.”
“Then I’ll wait for you.” She marched for the door.
“Go with her,” Zane said softly to Ecco, as if she might explode if he jostled her with loud words. “I’ll finish here.”
She plunked herself down in the driver’s seat and stared at the first flakes of snow whipped in the wind.
Ecco disappeared into the back. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat. “Do you think you and Archer are compatible outside the bedroom?”
She glared into the rearview mirror. “Excuse me?”
“Does he listen to your dreams? Do you like his friends? You’re a cute couple and all, but that trick you did together with the malice in Bookie’s lab seemed a little kinky as the basis for a long and loving relationship.”
She twisted around. “Are you smoking something back there?”
“You gotta have things in common besides the zing, you know?”
Before she could answer, Zane emerged with his conga line of shopping carts. Zane shot Ecco a hard look. “Why’d you let her drive?”
“I had my magazine.” Ecco waved the glossy pages with the voluptuous brunette on the cover promising “Ten Ways HE Can Please YOU In Bed.”
Zane looked disgusted. “Shoplifting?”
“Hey, I’m possessed by evil incarnate.”
* * *
See? What do you do with a “hero” like that? Didn’t he sound kind of serious about wanting a deeper relationship than sex? But what kind of hero eats only doughnuts?
Ecco is opaque to me. He originally stepped onto the stage to say things the other characters wouldn’t say aloud. And he says them in an honest-to-the-point-of-rude way. But I suspect he’s hiding something from me, some damage that he’d never, ever, in a thousand years share. Those heroes are trouble.
Besides, what sort of heroine would put up with a man taking her magazines?
And yet… He keeps teasing me. I even have a hint what he looks like. Kinda like this:
Oh man, really? You’re kidding me. The Rock? What am I supposed to do with that? I don’t know… What do you think? What does one do with a maybe hero? Do we redeem him? Kill him horrifically? Give him his own Twitter account and hope he doesn’t get us arrested? Who are your favorite heroes who you didn’t think could ever be heroic?
Leave an answer in comments and two random readers will win a copy of either Archer’s chest or Liam’s butt, your choice. Heck, if we got man chest on Book 1 and man behind on Book 2, what’ll be on the cover of Book 3?!
Tweet It
A person that you would not think as a hero how about the Boy in Silve Bullet or the guy in Shaun of the dead I don’t know my mind is strang some times.I’m shur there is lots of unlikely hero’s in the world every day.
sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com
Hi, Jessa! Great post!! 🙂 I love the bad heroes! So don’t kill off that character–semi-redeem him.
Posting for Virginia:
Maybe Ecco is not clear to you because he is not clear to himself. Perhaps he has memory loss due to an old injury or maybe he is blocking out a traumatic event in his life. Keeping mental issues that you don’t want to face from coming to the surface can make a person keep up their guard in a sarcastic, blunt manner.
–Virginia C. gcwhiskas@aol.com
Really enjoyed your post and excerpt. I haven’t read your books yet. Will be adding them to my to read list. I love bad boys as heroes.
Oh my goodness….this post had me really chuckling!! You’ve really got a handful there with Ecco. But I can see the possibilitis of some woman who can capture this man and bring out what it is that bothers him. It could be an awesome story.
Valerie
in Germany
I’m one of those readers who wants Ecco’s book. Sorry, Jessa. *big grin* It tickles me to no end that the words ‘hero’ and ‘Ecco’ were used in the same sentence. Ecco stands out for me. He’s one of those bad boys you just want to tame, and don’t we all know how that usually ends up?
While reading the books, I felt as though Ecco held a secret, and his one-liners and his brutal honesty were tools he used to keep to himself. But women are drawn to those types of men – dangerous loners who need a little TLC. I’m dying to know what he’s hiding.
Just please please please don’t kill him horrifically. I think he deserves a HEA. (and I can’t help but wonder just how animalistic he’d be in bed!) Yeah, I had to go there. LOL
Great excerpt! And I’m all for the redeemed hero.
I’d have to go with Damon from The Vampire Diaries. I started out so bad but in this latest book has really redeemed himself.
Great post! I love the bad boy hero!
Your books sounds great. I am a fan of bad boy heroes. I love it when they are redeemed by a special woman.
Jessa – I loved this post. I was definitely entertained, especially with you giving away “random” hero body [parts] at the end 😛 As for what to do with the Rock… oh man I recently saw the Mummy II – so him as the Scorpion King… :X No comment there.
I love the bad boy hero though, because he falls so hard, and generally is tortured by the author.
Ecco needs to live and become a hero somewhere, someday. It’s OK that he’s not on your spreadsheet. He’s more a stand-alone guy than someone who plays nice with others.
Don’t let Ecco know you tried to fit him into a plotted spreadsheet cell, he’d certainly melt the borders and leave steaming holes as he stomped through the entire workbook.
Hi Jessa! I’m all for the redeemed hero. Besides, who says a redeemed hero can’t still be bad every once in a while, right? Great post & congrats on the new release. I can’t wait to read it!
Jessa-I love a redeemed hero! That can be what makes him a bad boy! Congrats on your new release.
I’m loving it
Congrats on the new release, Jessa. I love it when a character surprises us with his heroism.
Oh every guy no matter how bad deserves a chance at being a hero and finding the right woman! 😀 Hmmm a man’s chest on the cover of book1 and a guy’s butt on the cover of book2… gotta see what comes next! 😉
Stacey, ha! Shaun of the Dead is a great example. What a wanker… at the beginning. But he really stepped up when he had to.
Virginia, you’re right; I’m afraid Ecco is hiding some terrible trauma. But what could be so bad that a guy who slays demons for a living doesn’t want to face it? I shudder to think.
Sue, moody broody bad boys with huge chips on their shoulders are the best. Ooh, what if Ecco was a beta male in his old life? THAT would be worth hiding!
Valerie, oh geez, I haven’t a clue who his heroine would be. But I pity her.
Dawn, you naughty girl! Keep your hands off my man! You have hawt fallen demon bad boys of your own. Although if we’re planning some m/m, maybe Ecco and Azazel… Oooh, very naughty 😉
Marcie, we need a redeeming wand… Oh wait, thanks to Dawn, now even the word “wand” sounds dirty.
I love the bad boy heroes!! Heck, now a days everyone can be some form of hero:) Enjoyed the excerpt!! Congrats on your release!!
Viki, boys named Damon definitely have farther to go in the redemption department 🙂
Hi, Quilt Lady! Glad to see you here! Something about bad boys makes for great cheekbones 🙂
Crystal, thanks! I have a bad boy of my own at home. And I was such a good girl! I’m living the stereotype!
Any hero who eats doughnuts to save the world (and still has a great bod) is one that I’ll lust after. In fact, if doughnuts are a save-the-world requirement, I’ll sign up.
Great excerpt! Congrats on your new release.
Limecello, no, no, we authors would NEVER torture our heroes. Hardly ever. Okay, only when necessary. And for their own good 😉
Terri, ha! I can totally picture the shredded remnants of my precious spreadsheet after Ecco ripped his gauntlets through the pages!
Barb P., I like the way you think. He can just stay bad.
Denise, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, so I suppose the reverse is true too: The harder they fell, the more heroic they can become.
Jane, that is one of the best parts of a redeemed bad boy — the surprise of his conversion. Nobody being more surprised than him, I bet!
Colleen, if we got chest and we got butt, the only thing left is… ankles!
Judy, the world needs more heroes, I fervently agree.
Edie, lol! More chocolate sprinkles —> Less war. We can dream!
“Barb P., I like the way you think. He can just stay bad.”
I vote for that! Keep him bad AND make him animalistic in the sack. See? You can’t go wrong with that combo. 🙂
Kill him? No! You never kill a a character who has even the smallest chance of being a hero. He might just one day suprise you and become the biggest hero you’ve ever written 🙂
Sydney Carlton of A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorite heroes.
One character who became a hero and I never DREAMED he would be is Thomas of the Argeneau series by Lynsay Sands.
Dawn, snork!
Chelsea, smallest chance, hmm? I think that’s Ecco… No, Dawn, not THAT part of him! Shocking.
Tracey, I avoided Dickens as much as possible in school. Now if Lynsay Sands had been required reading…
Forgot to add…seeing as how I already have two copies of Archer’s chest and one of Liam’s butt, please take me out of the contest. 🙂
And *me*? Shocking? After a solid week of dancing (sometimes on stage) and drinking (every waking hour) at RT, I didn’t think I could shock you anymore. Good to know I still got it. LOL
Hi Jessa
Please don’t tell us you don’t know what to do with a maybe hero, we won’t believe you. I enjoyed the excerpt, thank you.
Eric Northman from the Sookie Stackhouse books is a character that I didn’t think of as heroic. But as the books progress he occassionally does something that shows he cares even as he’s insulting everyone. It’s not always by words that I see a hero, but by actions mostly.
Bones from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress seris is my favorite hero ever. But Ecco sounds like he might give Bones a run for his money!
Zsadist from Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series is an anti-hero if I ever read one and he is my *fav* Brother. He’s so tortured you just want to…well, I’ll just say hug him. 😉
Diane, ah, you obviously know writers well (sly grin). Ve alvays haf ze plan… (Just as soon as we figure out what it is.)
Joder, absolutely correct. Actions, not words or even thoughts, make the hero. Actually, that’s one of my favorite kind of scenes, where you read the hero grumbling to himself as he saves the damn kitten 🙂
Casey, Oh yeah, Bones… Those covers, yum. Cat would take no sh!t from Ecco!
For me it was Niol from Cynthia Eden’s Midnight series. In the first book, HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT, I hated/loved him. Was so glad he was given a chance to reedem himself 😀
Loved reading the post and Ecco sounds like a fabulous hero to love!
Michele, and yet Niol looks so innocent on his cover 😉
Jeanette, glad you liked the post. And I like Ecco now, when he swans on for his one-liners. It’s if he gets his own book… Oh yikes.
roflmfao you give his own book with a heroine that outdoes him. That’ll show him. This series sounds fantastic. I’ve got the 2nd book and since I can’t read a series out of order, I have to get the first one before I can read them.
Okay, after reading that excerpt Ecco needs his own story. He seems like a very interesting character, who needs a good woman.
Pamk, I should have written Book 9 first so you’d have to buy Books 1-8. Curses, I have outwitted myself 😉 THANK YOU for reading! And I think I’ll follow your “torture the troublesome hero with the heroine of his nightmares” scenario.
Marlene, maybe a good bad woman!
I love a “maybe” hero – taking a flawed man with issues and having him become the redeemed hero is always fun. The only example I can think of that I’ve read recently was Eloisa James’ Duke of Villiers from A Duke of Her Own. All through her Desperate Duchesses series he was the mad, bad, troublemaker and it seemed he would never find anyone to put up with him – then he got a story of his own.
LOL. great post. I agree with the majority here, loving the redeemed bad boy. Or better yet, a bad boy with a great sense of humor. Ecco certainly had me giggling. Look at Cynthia’s own Niol…
I agree with Pam K’s scenario – ” “torture the troublesome hero with the heroine of his nightmares.”
Always love to see that bad boy redeemed, digging deep to find there’s more to him than appears outwardly.
Haha, great post, yes and what comes after the chest and the butt.
Hmm, who, nah I can’t pin down a bad boy, well ok I never did think Spike from Buffy ever would do anything heroic.
Barbara E., maybe a lot of them are bad boys merely because they haven’t had their say yet. That’s what romances are for 🙂
CatsMeow, yup, humor saves the bad boy. I think a sense of humor lets us see under all that black leather!
Pam P, why do the silly boys even resist? They know we’re going to get under their skin. And they know they’re just going to give in 😉
Blodeuedd, yay, Spike! Speaking of tortured 🙂 Joss Whedon needs to read more romance novels so he learns that, after you pay for your sins, you get a Happy Ending!
Ecco with a name like that he has GOT to be a hero… okay maybe not the neatly wrapped kind but a hero nevertheless. Perhaps his heroine should be someone equally as snarky as him, someone that just loves to torment him for the reaction she gets – oh and she has got to loves doughnut holes!
Hey Jessa,
That was a great excerpt…as for a maybe hero…he is in the perfect position to be cast as the redeemable hero. There’s always room for redemption.
Hi Jessa!
oh I’m so glad the next story will be Eccos ’cause I loved him from the first moment we meet him!!!
wish you all the best,
Ina
“Heck, if we got man chest on Book 1 and man behind on Book 2, what’ll be on the cover of Book 3?!”
If I had my druthers it would be a very interesting piece of male anatomy 😉
And if you don’t know what to do with Ecco just send him my way – I have lots of ideas what to do with him (unfortunately none of it publishable :D)