Special Valentine's Day Edition - Heroes

Since my post this week was on villains, I thought it might be nice to add a "heroes" edition on this Hallmark Holiday.

I suppose this past month I've done a lot of confessional blogging, and you'll have to permit me one more. Chalk it up to Valentine's Day.

The heroes I write tend to be nice guys, much to the dismay of beta readers and critique partners. They've sometimes told me my heroes are fatally nice, especially in my first drafts. I do understand heroes have to be flawed to be believable, and it is my considered opinion that often you have to get past the flaws to find the "nice guy" underneath. This is where I'm entering the confession booth.

I am married to a nice guy. I'm living my happily ever after. Does that make my husband perfect? Not by a long shot. My real life hero has flaws, but beneath it all beats a heart of gold. My husband will often say things the wrong way, things that sound highly offensive or even arrogant. It's enough to put anyone's back up (including my own from time to time). What counts is what is beneath the gruff exterior. This is a man who will nurse me when I'm sick. Who, when I have a bad day, will buy me flowers or take me to my favorite restaurant, who has even flown me to Santa Barbara for a weekend to cheer me up (some days are worse than others). I call these gestures "random acts of love." He is a gentle giant who protects me against anyone who slashes out at me. And he knows when to back off. He has this amazing sense of radar and always seems to know exactly how to deal with my unpredictable, female moods. With that being said, he is prone to moods of his own, so when he says something unbelievably arrogant or cutting, I generally stop to consider where the words originate rather than what they are. That is my gift to him. We each have our own criteria for our "perfect man." I found my gold. {sigh} okay, there's my Valentine for my husband . . .

So what makes a good hero? I leave you with a quote from one of my favorite movies:

Him: "I've never done anything heroic."
Her: "You give your seat up everyday to someone on the L."
Him: "That's not very heroic."
Her: "It is to the person you give your seat to.""

Happy Valentines Day -